Typically, modern world history classrooms primarily focus on important events and leaders of revolutions. This unit curriculum’s discussions and lesson plans extend beyond these common topics by incorporating the study of revolutionary objects. The unit consists of three pairs of revolutions: the Scientific Revolution and the Enlightenment, the French and Haitian Revolutions, and the Industrial and Russian Revolutions. Ninth grade students will apply art historian Jules Prown’s method of object analysis, which consists of three steps: description, deduction, and speculation. In the description stage, students will first examine the object as a whole, and then work down to its fine details. Deduction consists of handling the object, or imagining how one could handle it in limited circumstances, and describing the sensory experience of using or viewing the object. Finally, students will form a hypothesis about the object’s identity and function, and use outside information (catalogue information, archival resources, research on similar objects, etc.) to confirm their ideas. Along the way, students will answer and develop a multitude of questions regarding their chosen objects. Throughout the unit, students will be challenged to use Prown’s method, and use their skills to create a final project on revolutionary objects from a Latin American revolution of their choice. Overall, the unit has been written with the intention of engaging our diverse learners through hands-on activities and inclusive content.
(Developed for Modern World History, grade 9; recommended for Modern World History, grade 9)
