Humanities in Class Online Courses Forum - Recent Posts

Module 3.1: The Importance of Lifting African Voices and Stories

Francisca Miranda — Wed, 21 Oct 2026 22:36:03 +0000

By using African experts (authors) books are more accurate/authentic about the illustrations and stories. Picture books depict the culture, country, and or folktales more accurate. Allows students to understand and possibly relate to those authentic books/stories.

RE: Going to the source

XIUJUAN LI — Wed, 21 Oct 2026 21:06:19 +0000

I really appreciate your thoughtful approach to teaching about Africa, especially your emphasis on first-person sources and avoiding generalizations. It is also a great reminder that teaching students to recognize different perspectives starts with the sources we choose.

African Voices and Stories

XIUJUAN LI — Wed, 21 Oct 2026 21:00:14 +0000

Centering African voices matters because Africans should have the opportunity to tell their own stories and represent their own experiences. As Komla Dumor emphasizes, African experts understand their communities, cultures, and histories in ways outsiders may not. Including African novels, art, films, and commentary helps challenge stereotypes and shows the diversity of life across the continent.

When teaching about Africa, using more African-created sources can provide students with a more authentic and balanced perspective. It also recognizes Africans as experts in their own realities rather than relying mainly on outsiders to define them.

Ge'ez (or Ethiopic)

Christina Perez — Tue, 20 Oct 2026 19:08:47 +0000

Ge’ez (or Ethiopic) is one of the oldest written systems in Africa and is one of only a few ancient scripts still utilized today. Some of the earliest Ge’ez scripts can be traced back to the 5th century BCE in Eritrea and northern Ethiopia. Also it is derived from South Arabian scripts, it differs importantly from them by pairing consonant characters with vowels. The Ezana Stone from the Aksumite Empire in the 4th century CE displays one of the most famous early examples of Ge’ez and is considered to be the African Rosetta Stone by some because of its trilingual inscriptions (Ge’ez, South Arabian, and Greek). Ge’ez also appeared on Aksumite coins, among other places. When the Aksumite court converted to Christianity in the 4th century, Ge’ez became a key language for scripture and other religious texts in Ethiopia.

Over time, Ge’ez was no longer widely spoken but did stay in written form when modified for Amharic, the official language of Ethiopia. Other languages found in Eritrea and Ethiopia, such as Tigrinya, Tigre, Harari, and several Gurage languages, also employ a modified Ge’ez script. Moreover, the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church uses Ge’ez for its liturgical language, while the Ethiopian Jewish tradition used Ge’ez for scripture until the 20th century.

Ge’ez script, in use for over 2,000 years, debunks the myth that Africa’s population was illiterate prior to European colonization. In addition, Ge’ez manuscripts about theology, philosophy, astronomy, and law illuminate a long-lasting and powerful intellectual body of work penned by Africans.

Going to the source

Christina Perez — Tue, 20 Oct 2026 16:08:09 +0000

As a White woman who has never been to Africa, it has always been extremely important to me to seek out sources of information that come directly from those with lived experiences. Otherwise, how else are we to know that the information we share with students is accurate and reflective of real people’s lives? Komla Dumor raises key points about why this is necessary and what it means to be an “expert.” I really appreciated what he said about not assuming someone is an expert on a particular place in Africa just because they speak the language. I question often how well the material I offer students reflects everyday lives and not generalities.

Over the past 5 years, as my teaching partner and I have developed and refined our curriculum about Africa, we have steadily added more and more first-person sources. It has been challenging at times to find material that is age-appropriate for third graders and that doesn’t perpetuate stereotypes, and we often preface videos and articles with saying that this is one person’s/group’s perspective and does not speak for a whole people. YouTube has been a great source of videos featuring people who live in a particular place, as have the many new picture books written by African authors. One area that has been a challenge for us to navigate in keeping materials accessible to third graders while also being in-depth enough for them to learn something significant is bringing AI into our resource gathering. AI has been great at tracking down sources we might not otherwise find, but it can be tricky to double-check every piece of information it pulls together on a subject. At times it has filled a gap for us when we couldn’t find information about something; the video is a good reminder to peek behind the curtain of AI to go to the original source of the information.

RE: Hello All

Elsa Wiehe — Tue, 20 Oct 2026 11:42:40 +0000

I love your reframing of hiccups Jacqi! Courage and patience to you for the school year!

RE: We're back, y'all!

Elsa Wiehe — Tue, 20 Oct 2026 11:41:39 +0000

Hello Kelli! Thanks for sharing your visit to that church. What is its name? Would love to learn more. It's great to read your enthusiastic re-entry into this course community :)

RE: Hi from NH

Elsa Wiehe — Tue, 20 Oct 2026 11:39:28 +0000

Jake, this analysis of the role of unions sounds fascinating and I would love to read it! There is such a great need for policy around AI... so glad unions are tackling it. And glad to hear of your plans to share your unit with your PLC!

RE: Greetings from Tucson!

Elsa Wiehe — Tue, 20 Oct 2026 11:36:52 +0000

What great resources you shared! I was amazed by Radio Garden - as you move through the globe, you hear the languages shift. So cool! If you are looking to connect classrooms, let me know what country you may be thinking of and I could help by activating some contacts.

RE: Greetings from Utah

Elsa Wiehe — Tue, 20 Oct 2026 11:29:20 +0000

I am sorry to hear of the loss of funding for this vital program of language immersion. It's disheartening to see resources that support multilingualism disappear... your positivity and collaborative spirit around this challenge is commendable. I am excited that you are planning on presenting your curriculum at a PD!