Most, if not all, writings by Jamaican writer Michelle Cliff are connected by a subterranean desire to re-write Afro-Caribbean history from new untold perspectives in reaction to the immense loss and/or distortions that marked the region's history for entire centuries. In this paper, I meticulously read four of Cliff's texts--"Abeng"…

The Oghuz Turks being in existence for many a millenia in Central Asia has a rich cultural heritage conveyed from generation to generation through oral tradition. The "Book of Dede Korkut" discovered in 1815 in Dresden Royal Library by H. F. von Diez sheds light to an important part of that culture. That precious historic literary…

In 1921, the Greenlandic anthropologist Knud Rasmussen set out to travel twenty thousand miles by dog team across Inuit Nunaat--the Inuit homeland. During this three-year journey--the famous Fifth Thule Expedition--Rasmussen was struck by the similarities in the language and culture of Inuit communities across the entire Arctic. Considering the…

Storytelling, a powerful means of providing children and adults with life-enhancing mental images, has been a tradition practiced by most cultures throughout the world. Passed on from one generation to another, the stories freed the imagination and stretched the capacity for such feelings of joy, sorrow, sympathy, and hope. The stories usually…

Draws a connection between the techniques of storytelling and the content knowledge of history. Notes the many fables, tall tales, and legends that have historical incidents as their inspiration. Outlines some specific functions and steps of a story and provides an exercise for students or teachers to develop their own stories. (MJP)

This book is based on the belief that children's literature and history should be linked in elementary classrooms. The resource book has three major sections. The first section provides a brief overview of eight historical understandings that can be developed using children's literature. These understandings, adapted from a list of "history's…