The Unitarian Universalist Association has developed a series of curriculum materials all bearing the same name, In Our Hands: A Peace and Social Justice Program. Five resources have been published for various age levels: Grades 1-3, Grades 4-6, Junior High, Senior High, and Adults. Each resource begins with a brief overview of several issues: the rationale for peace and social justice education, linking peace and justice, ends and means/ideals and realities, cherishing the earth, defining peace and justice, and sources of authority (e.g., an individual commitment to helping to create peace and justice on the planet.) Each include introductory information on goals of the lessons, structure of the lessons, characteristics of the age group, discussion suggestions, and other items relevant to the specific age group. In Sections 6.1, 6.2, and 6.4, you will find a listing of the specific units for the various age groups. For information on acquiring these resources, contact the Unitarian Universalist Association, 25 Beacon Street, Boston, MA 02108; phone:617/742-2100; Web address: www.uua.org/
The sections in this Unitarian Universalist Association resource are:
Orientation and Beginnings
What is the State of Peace and Justice in the World?
Do We Choose Peace and Justice?
How Do We Live a Just and Peaceful Life with Others?
What Are Our Visions of a Just and Peaceful World?
How Do We Make a More Just and Peaceful World?
You also will find Optional Passages, 11 handouts, an evaluation form for users to submit, sample sessions from other volumes in the series, and social action organizations and resources for all ages.
Amherst, NY: Prometheus Books, 2004.
Carl Coon, a humanist leader and scholar and a former ambassador to Nepal,
maintains that the 21st Century will witness a crucially important and difficult transition for the human race. Blending the disciplines of anthropology and evolutionary psychology with over 30 years of experience in the diplomatic corps, Coon traces the evolution of the human tendency to divide others into two groups, "us versus them." People tend instinctively to behave altruistically toward members of their own in-group and to react with suspicion, or even hostility, toward outsiders. Today, he argues, we have reached a stage where the whole world must be viewed as "us," for only a united world community can cope with current global challenges.
The first half of his book draws on contemporary thinking about the evolution of complex human societies from the time of our remote ancestors to the present. He then analyzes current global problems in that evolutionary context. His primary conclusion is that all of us are in a stage of massive change, in transit from a world of largely competitive nation states to a global system of governance superimposed on those states and capable of addressing emerging global problems that the state system cannot solve on its own.
Jeff Nall is a teacher, writer, speaker, and peace activist and a PhD candidate in Comparative Studies at Florida Atlantic University. Nall's writings have appeared in academic journals and a range of independent magazines including Z magazine, Toward Freedom, and Humanist Network News . He has an essay in each of two forthcoming books including Beyond Burning Bras: Feminist Activism for Everyone and Religion and the New Atheism: A Critical Appraisal. Nall is the author of Perpetual Revolt: Essays on Peace & Justice and The Shared Values of Secular, Spiritual, and Religious Progressives, published September 2008. He also contributed two essays to The Cost of Freedom: Anthology of Peace and Activism (2007). His prolific writings about peace and social justice - and a variety of other issues -- can be found in anthologies, journals, media and the popular press. For additional information about Jeff and his works, see the following sites or simple "google" Jeff Nall:
HumanistsForPeace.com | PerpetualRevolt.com | JeffNall.com
