SPICE is a program of the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies.
FSI researchers work to understand continuity and change in societies as they confront their problems and opportunities. This includes the implications of migration and human trafficking. What happens to a society when young girls exit the sex trade? How do groups moving between locations impact societies, economies, self-identity and citizenship? What are the ethnic challenges faced by an increasingly diverse European Union? From a policy perspective, scholars also work to investigate the consequences of security-related measures for society and its values.
The Europe Center reflects much of FSI’s agenda of investigating societies, serving as a forum for experts to research the cultures, religions and people of Europe. The Center sponsors several seminars and lectures, as well as visiting scholars.
Societal research also addresses issues of demography and aging, such as the social and economic challenges of providing health care for an aging population. How do older adults make decisions, and what societal tools need to be in place to ensure the resulting decisions are well-informed? FSI regularly brings in international scholars to look at these issues. They discuss how adults care for their older parents in rural China as well as the economic aspects of aging populations in China and India.
This unit provides students with an introduction to human rights, minority (both ethnic and religious) rights, civil and political rights, and women's rights.
Beginning with an examination of the importance of history textbooks in Japan and the United States, this digest then provides background information on Japan's textbook controversies from Ienaga Saburo's first lawsuit in 1965 to the present. Finally, the digest offers some ideas as to how students and teachers can critically examine their own history textbooks.
This curriculum unit offers students the opportunity to consider civil rights issues in the context of the Japanese-American experience during World War II. Lessons focus on the immigration years, the role of the media, diverse perspectives on the internment years, Japanese Americans and the military during World War II, and legacies of internment.
Although many state and national U.S. history standards include the Japanese-American internment experience, more often than not it is a topic that is treated without nuance. Because of spatial considerations, many U.S. history textbooks condense this historical episode into no more than a few pages, at best. As a result, textbooks are forced to emphasize certain historical themes and to abandon others. This digest offers suggestions on the teaching of Japanese-American internment as a supplement to current textbook offerings on the subject.
Teaching about contemporary Japan remains a challenge. It is difficult to decide which topics or issues might be most meaningful and useful in precollegiate Japan studies. This Japan Digest explores changes in lifestyle, economic restructuring, and technological advancements. Many of these aspects of contemporary society can easily be integrated into a variety of curricular explorations.
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Stefanie Orrick is a Curriculum Consultant and an Instructor for the Stanford e-China for the Stanford Program on International and Cross-Cultural Education (SPICE). Prior to joining SPICE in 2000, she taught Middle School Language Arts and Social Studies in Oregon and Hong Kong, China.
Stefanie's academic interests lie in curriculum design and instruction. She received her Bachelor’s Degree in Elementary Education from Western Oregon University and her Master’s Degree in Curriculum and Teacher Education from Stanford University.
She has authored or co-authored the following curriculum units for SPICE: Baltic States: Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, China’s Cultural Revolution, Crowding the Rim, Examining Human Rights in a Global Context, Geography and the Human Experience, Introduction to Diasporas in the United States, and Islamic Civilization and the Arts.
She has facilitated professional development seminars for middle and high school teachers in cooperation with the National Consortium for Teaching about Asia (NCTA), presented teacher workshops nationally for the Chicago Public Schools and the National Council for the Social Studies. She has also presented teacher seminars internationally for the East Asia Regional Council of Overseas Schools in Bangkok, Thailand and the Pacific Education Conference in American Samoa.
In 2007, Stefanie received the Franklin Buchanan Prize, which is awarded annually to honor an outstanding curriculum publication on Asia at any educational level, elementary through university.
This unit introduces students to a variety of economic basics and helps them to understand the context of the emerging economies in East Asia, their economic troubles in 1997–98, and the International Monetary Fund.
Through this unit, students are encouraged to examine the use of the atomic bomb on Japan in its historical context. Small-group and whole-class activities allow students to learn and appreciate the multiple perspectives people have on the atomic bombing.