Daniel Osborn – författare

Representing the Middle East and Africa in Social Studies Education examines the lived classroom experiences of six social studies teachers and the relevance of their discourse in framing the knowledge students receive about populations in the Middle East and Africa. With a focus on the socialization processes of schooling, this book deconstructs the classroom experience and investigates the ways in which a macro-societal phenomenon—otherness—is reified in micro-societal interactions. Through the methodological lens of Critical Discourse Analysis, this work illuminates the importance of teachers’ language in challenging and reinforcing portrayals that cast the diverse populations of the Middle East and Africa in the role of "the other."

This book examines the evolving role played by the social studies classroom in shaping national identity and contributing to Orientalism, which depicts the peoples of the Middle East as “the Other” relative to those of the United States and Europe.Building upon the momentum of critical approaches to examining the nature of knowledge, the role of schools in society, and the trends within social studies education and its hidden curriculum, the volume crucially shifts the focus toward a more global emphasis, examining the nature of Orientalism and the school as a setting where Orientalist logic and assumptions about the Middle East and its inhabitants are reified. Focusing on the ecosystem of social studies knowledge production and working within the sociology of knowledge, it traces this evolution across the 19th, 20th, and 21st centuries.A novel and unique exploration of knowledge construction, and presenting a vision for a more nuanced and multifaceted portrayal of the Middle East that corrects for the deleterious aspects of Orientalism while avoiding a romanticized apologetic, it will appeal to scholars, researchers, and educators with interests in decolonizing education, social studies education, the history of education, and race and ethnicity studies.

This book examines the evolving role played by the social studies classroom in shaping national identity and contributing to Orientalism, which depicts the peoples of the Middle East as “the Other” relative to those of the United States and Europe.Building upon the momentum of critical approaches to examining the nature of knowledge, the role of schools in society, and the trends within social studies education and its hidden curriculum, the volume crucially shifts the focus toward a more global emphasis, examining the nature of Orientalism and the school as a setting where Orientalist logic and assumptions about the Middle East and its inhabitants are reified. Focusing on the ecosystem of social studies knowledge production and working within the sociology of knowledge, it traces this evolution across the 19th, 20th, and 21st centuries.A novel and unique exploration of knowledge construction, and presenting a vision for a more nuanced and multifaceted portrayal of the Middle East that corrects for the deleterious aspects of Orientalism while avoiding a romanticized apologetic, it will appeal to scholars, researchers, and educators with interests in decolonizing education, social studies education, the history of education, and race and ethnicity studies.

Representing the Middle East and Africa in Social Studies Education examines the lived classroom experiences of six social studies teachers and the relevance of their discourse in framing the knowledge students receive about populations in the Middle East and Africa. With a focus on the socialization processes of schooling, this book deconstructs the classroom experience and investigates the ways in which a macro-societal phenomenon—otherness—is reified in micro-societal interactions. Through the methodological lens of Critical Discourse Analysis, this work illuminates the importance of teachers’ language in challenging and reinforcing portrayals that cast the diverse populations of the Middle East and Africa in the role of "the other."

In the United States, the dominant perception of the Middle East is that the region is defined by violence, conflict, and extremism. This narrative erases the humanity and dignity of the region’s communities and perpetuates Orientalist myths about backwardness, inferiority, and a clash of civilizations. Levantine Vignettes is the account of one history educator and his lifelong journey to appreciate the vibrancy, vitality, diversity, and dynamism of the Middle East through the embodied learning that emerges through travel and cultural immersion.Following Daniel Osborn from his first trip to Israel as an undergraduate student through his Peace Corps service in Jordan and well beyond, Levantine Vignettes demonstrates the transformative power of working with and living among communities in Israel, the Palestinian West Bank, Jordan, and Lebanon. From harvesting and planting olive trees to herding livestock in the desert, this account provides a glimpse into the process of becoming a global educator committed to crossing borders and cultivating compassion through knowledge.