Argentina's+Dirty+War

//Ideas for a unit on los desaparecidos and the Dirty War in Argentina.//

//Themes to Explore:// Authority, corruption, freedom of the press, human rights, loyalty, patriotism, truth

=Unit Context=

I usually combine this topic with a unit on news and media and encourage students to think about how much privilege, position, and perception influence history as we experience it, as we remember it, as we represent it, as we retell it, and as we learn it in school and from the media user:chericem1

=A Few Unit Materials=

//I would teach the movie "The Official Story" very differently now, but this is what I did with it 10 years ago.// user:chericem1

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=Argentina's //Oración a la bandera//=

//Comparisons -// Have students compare the U.S. Pledge of Allegiance with Argentina's //Oracion a la bandera// in terms of content, language, meaning, and the contexts in which it is used. user:chericem1

[|Oración a la bandera - Argentina] - YouTube video of an image of the flag accompanied by the music and text user:chericem1

[|Oración a la bandera - Argentina] - A website from the Argentinian Ministry of Education containing a wide variety of homages to the Argentine flag user:chericem1

[|Oración a la bandera Argentina - Paula] - YouTube video of students from an Argentinian school saying it user:chericem1

=Change & Perspective=

//Use these materials to help students try on new perspectives, consider issues in their own country they would like to change, and imagine what effects those changes might have.//

El mundo al revés (Poem by Gloria Fuertes) user:chericem1

[|Si el norte fuera el sur] (Song by Ricardo Arjona) user:chericem1

[|Solo le pido a dios] - Mashup from Panama Internacional that pairs the Mercedes Sosa song with photos of social problems user:chericem1

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[|Rich Woman, Poor Woman] - Poem for two voices about the overthrow of Chile's President Salvador Allende user:chericem1 [|Regret to Inform] - Lesson plan related to this poem that could be adapted for this unit user:chericem1

[|Ohio - Crosby, Stills, & Nash] - Mashup with real images from the historical events the song discusses re: the Kent State Massacre, Nixon, etc. user:chericem1

[|It's the End of the World As We Know It] - Mashup (not as compelling as the others listed here) user:chericem1

[|We Didn't Start the Fire] - We didn't start the fire mashup with real images from the historical events the song discusses, along with commentary for the rising generation about its responsibility to the world user:chericem1

[|We Didn't Start the Fire] (Updated) - Updated version of the song that adds recent events with images user:chericem1

=Los Desaparecidos=

[|Del otro lado del espejo] - PSA encouraging people with questions about their identity to explore them further user:chericem1

[|Los santos inocentes] - Newspaper article from El Mundo written in very simple Spanish about children who have grown up not knowing the history behind their adoptions user:chericem1

=Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo=

[|Madres] - YouTube video with original footage of mothers pleading the cause of their disappeared children (click through the related videos to find other footage that would be most appropriate for the age and interests of your class) user:chericem1

The //Destinos// textbook has a good "Nota cultural" that gives the history of the mothers of the Plaza de Mayo in simple Spanish, and Episodio 17 also has some footage user:chericem1

=The Official Story=

[|The Official Story] - Synopsis of the plot of the film in English user:chericem1


 * Dialogue on film**: **Luis Puenzo**," American Film November 1986, p. 15f. - Director Luis Puenzo talks about making the film user:chericem1

//[|Two Women] - A dramatic reading for 2 voices ([|Another version with images]) - This is also available in Spanish from the magazine [|Americas]// - Poem about the dictatorship in Chile, but very applicable to the idea of perspective user:chericem1

=Simulation=

- //Divide students into small groups and have them read materials representing the perspectives of the various people below, then have them play out their simulations using the oral situation worksheets below.// user:chericem1

- //Cut these into strips and use them to evaluate the performance of each group// user:chericem1
 * ===Grandmothers of the Disappeared===
 * ===Judge===
 * |Nadie esta solo user:chericem1
 * ===Officer===
 * [|I Can't Erase This] - Newsweek, March 27, 1995 user:chericem1
 * [|Preguntas] (lots of future tense in this one) user:chericem1
 * [|200 Military Officers are Pardoned] - NY Times user:chericem1
 * ===Relatives===
 * [|They Dance Alone] - YouTube video of Peter Gabriel dedicating Sting's //They Dance Alone// to the desaparecidos and then singing it in Spanish to an audience in Argentina in 1988 user:chericem1
 * [|Ubi sunt?] user:chericem1
 * ===Victim===
 * [|Delia Barrera] user:chericem1
 * [|Elegia para Francisco Urondo (Poet)] user:chericem1
 * [|Preso sin nombre, celda sin numero (Excerpt from p. 33)] user:chericem1

=Vos=

[|Vosotros/Vos] - An FLTEACH post from David Stillman user:chericem1

= = =Other Suggestions=

Help students to develop the skills to critically evaluate media, to use their own voices to comment on world events in transformative ways, and to actively work against social injustices and for social change. Consider combining this with a unit on news and media. News Unit user:chericem1

See also: Curriculum Development, News Unit, Teaching Culture