Anti-Semitism and racism – what do young people face today?

Podcast/Chronicle

This teaching example is suitable for carrying out in connection with work on democracy, human rights, in history teaching, in social studies in Swedish, Swedish as a second language or in other language teaching and image. The arrangement is well suited for cross-disciplinary collaborations.


The Holocaust is the example of what can happen if we do not keep alive the work of human rights and the equal value of all people. An important part of preventing similar events in the future is to identify racist and anti-democratic movements today. What do young people meet in their everyday lives? Here, young people can contribute by reflecting on and sharing their own experiences of intolerance that they encounter online or other parts of life. In this teaching example, students first get to see material from Eternal Echoes about how prejudice and hatred manifest themselves in today’s society and reflect on how it affects different groups in society. They then practice reflecting on their own or friends’ experiences and writing chronicles or producing podcasts based on the thoughts formulated in the discussion.

Divide students into groups that can do both assignments, or one of them.

Tip: Feel free to do one or more of the exercises in the “Source Criticism Folder”.

Curriculum and global goals

Subjects: Social studies, history, image, Swedish and Swedish as a second language, English or other language teaching.

UN Global Goals: 16 PEACEFUL AND INCLUSIVE SOCIETIES

Teacher support: Difficult questions in the classroom | Forum for Living History

"Student Publisher's Ethical Rules"

If you haven’t done so before, read “Student Publisher’s Ethical Rules” in the mobile stories tool (in logged-in mode). Please also discuss what the various points mean. Put simply, they are about:

  • Be careful with their sources and never publish inaccuracies or contribute to the spread of rumors online.
  • Never violate anyone’s copyright or the terms of use of free images downloaded from the web (preferably use your own images or illustrations!)
  • Avoid hurting or offending an individual or group in society.
Background

We all need to understand history in order to be able to see, reflect on and resist the racism and intolerance that exists in society. The Holocaust has happened once and can happen again, says Peter Kadar (1935–2020) in this clip from EDUT:

The vaccination against this is that young people tell and that they do not let any formof anti-Semitism, racism or intolerance pass by.”

At the Forum for Living History there are modules What was the Holocaust? and Anti-Semitism then and now and Antiziganism in history and today that can form the basis for further work. At the Living History Forum you will also find recorded testimonials from survivors, with associated classroom exercises. You can also find testimonials at the narrator group EDUT and at Eternal Eco. If your school wants visits, digitally or physically, from survivors, their children or grandchildren, you can register your interest via, for example, EDUT or Zikaron. In the “Resource Bank for Young Voices for Tolerance” you will find, among other things, a list of people available for student interviews.

Discussion exercise: Who/what can be a credible source? Let students make suggestions. Write up on the board or in a common document.

example:

  • Expert. If your source is an expert you have spoken to, such as a researcher, it should be clear what makes that particular person credible. The expert should have a special knowledge of exactly what they are speaking out about.
  • The case. The case is an interviewee who is in some way affected by what you are writing about. It can be someone who has experienced an injustice or someone who has done something good and who can inspire others.
  • Witness. A witness is someone who can confirm what you are writing about You should preferably collect more than one witness who indicates that the incident you mention in your article has taken place.
  • Image. An image, still image, or moving image, showing a something happening can also be a source. Keep in mind that images may have been manipulated and are not always true.
  • Document. A document can be, for example, a written letter or email, notes from a meeting or a decision from an authority or from the government.
  • You. Of course, you become a source when you post something online.

Tip: Let students read the article “Responsible publisher: How journalists work with source criticism” that can be found under “Content” in mobile stories tools.

“Sources and credibility” is a model for creating structure for source review in sharp mode. When students search for information online, the classic criteria Authenticity, Time, Dependency, and Tendency should be used, in combination with checking what other sources say about the first source.

When practicing: Give some suggestions for sources related to the topic, both good and some less good. Invite students to use the model below in groups to reflect on the relevance and credibility of the source in the context in which the source will be used. Then review what the students have come up with. Note, students don’t have to put a negative if they can’t find anything.

Here the template can be downloaded:

Feel free to have students read the help article “Methods of Source Criticism” in the signed-in mode in mobile stories tools: https://app.mobilestories.se/content/info_article_x_16812

This is a guide for those who want to source-check like a pro. This poster was produced by Therese Personne at Nya Elementar with the aim of helping schools value digital sources. Print a copy and set up in the classroom! The poster is available to download here:

Here students can take a digital self-test developed by Uppsala University in collaboration with the research institute Rise and the association Science & Public.

In this quiz, students in high school or high school can sharpen their knowledge of media, source criticism and online laws!

They can take the test up to 15 times. By explaining after each question, students can improve their performance and become more online smart every time they take the test! If they get 90 percent of the questions right, you can download a piece of evidence that they can put in their resume or share on social media.

Identify racist and anti-democratic movements today 

This guide with exercises aims to understand how prejudice, racism and propaganda spread during World War II and then investigate what it looks like today and spread the knowledge to others.

  1. Eternal Echoes: Can we learn from the Holocaust? | Prejudice, racism and

    hate crime today Read the material in the link above and do the exercise “Match the posters”. 
  2. Then discuss the issues listed at the bottom of the material above:
    • What consequences can it have for a person to belong to a discriminated group, do you think? Think about different aspects of life, such as work, personal life, rights, etc.
    • Have you experienced prejudice, racism or discrimination yourself, or do you know someone who has been exposed? If the answer is yes, describe the situation.
    • What can people do to combat prejudice, racism and discrimination today? Try to make at least three suggestions. Feel free to get help from Näthatshjälpen and the Police page about näthat.

What do young people meet in their everyday lives? Here, young people can contribute by reflecting on and sharing their own experiences of intolerance that they encounter online or other parts of life. In Podcasts or chronicles, students are allowed to share their own or other acquaintances’ experiences based on the thoughts formulated in the discussion.

production:

Podcast. If your class is used to producing pods, this can be a good option. Make sure that students first make a structure for the podcast and that a presenter is appointed to distribute the word. Don’t forget the Student Publisher’s ethical rules about not hanging out any individual or group or hurting or hurting someone through the podcast.
Watch the tip film with the presenter Jenny Ågren from Aftonbladet’s podcast editorial
team.The film is 5 minutes long and is located a bit down on the Young Journalism Prize competition site

Chronicle: Let the students work individually to write chronicles based on the questions in the workshop. 

Students can read the info article about the chronicle article type in mobile stories tools (in logged-in mode): This is a chronicle
At Mediekompass (formerly The Newspaper in school) you will find a slightly more detailed text about the article type chronicle : Chronicle

Please advise students on creating the following structure in the chronicle:
• Beginning. Start with something you’ve experienced personally. Preferably with a snapshot where you describe your experience. What happened and how did you feel?
• The center. Broaden it to describe how it is is part of a larger trend/phenomenon/societal problem.
• The end. Connect by reconnecting to the beginning.

imagery:

• • The best option is to let students take their own pictures or illustrate their article.Students should preferably not “screenshot” from social media as there is a high risk that names or pictures will appear on people who have not given their consent.

• If it is not possible to let students work with their own pictures, advise students on the article and you will find free photos in logged-in mode. Here, students are helped to search free images for publication.

Examples of good student chronicles at Mobile Stories (compare the structure of the chronicles with the points above):
Bruksgymnasiet in Östhammar: Don’t let loneliness drown you!
Ludvika Church School: I am constantly

ashamed
Ask students to keep in mind: If they use the name and picture of individuals in their text, they must first ensure that:
1. The person has read the article and approved that their name/picture be published on Mobilestories.se.
2. They must ensure that the chronicle does not in any way harm individuals by the publication of the text/image.

Propaganda, Eternal Echoes: Nazi ideology | Propaganda
L aces the material in the link above and does the exercise “Discuss the images” in smaller
groups. The material gives students knowledge about how the Nazis used propaganda, but also about how the same techniques are used today. They also practice recognizing propaganda in a number of posters. Then there are a number of discussion questions, where questions 6 and 7 are well suited for a writing task, such as a column or a debate article.

Show students to expo’s symbol dictionary to alert them to far-right symbols they may be exposed to on social media.

Questions:

• Have you seen images with similar messages today, maybe online? Give examples and describe how these images affect you emotionally!
• How are we influenced by propaganda today? What could that lead to? 

chronicle. Write a column answering both questions in the propaganda workshop.




Students can read the info article about the article type chronicle in mobile stories tools (in logged-in mode): This is a chronicle At Mediekompass (formerly The Newspaper in school) you will find a slightly more detailed text about the article type chronicle : Chronicle Please create the following structure in the chronicle: • Beginning.
Start with something you’ve experienced personally. Preferably with a snapshot where you describe your experience. What happened and how did you feel?

• The center. Broaden it to describe how it is is part of a larger trend/phenomenon/societal problem.
• The end. Connect by reconnecting to the beginning.

imagery:

• • The best option is to let students take their own pictures or illustrate their article.Students should preferably not “screenshot” from social media as there is a high risk that names or pictures will appear on people who have not given their consent.

• If it is not possible to let students work with their own pictures, advise students on the article and you will find free photos in logged-in mode. Here, students are helped to search free images for publication.

Examples of good student chronicles at Mobile Stories (compare the structure of the chronicles with the points above): Bruksgymnasiet in Östhammar: Don’t let loneliness drown you!

Church school in Ludvika: I am constantly

ashamed
Keep in mind: If you use the name and picture of individuals in your text, you must first ensure that:
1. The person has read your article and approved that their name/picture be published on Mobilestories.se.
2. You must ensure that the individuals in your column are not in any way harmed by the publication of the text/image.

If students want their article, podcast, or movie to reach more than Mobile Stories readers. Let students use this inspirational tips template. Download it here:

Reflect

Suggestions for reflection questions:

1. What have we learned?

2. Who else might have learned anything?

3. What can we do when we see anti-Semitism, racism and intolerance in society? Try to list different ways to react in different contexts.