Daily Life through History Usage Ideas

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Here are some examples of both content areas in, as well as research topics possible with, Daily Life through History.

Domestic life (Children, Family Life, Marriage, Sexuality, Women)

• Compare the role of women in the ancient world with women in the Islamic world
• Explore changing attitudes towards sex, sexuality, and gender
• Learn about the rituals and ceremonies surrounding family occasions such as births, marriages, and deaths

Economic life (Money, Rural Life, Trade, Travel and Transportation, Urban Life, Work)

• Trace the relationship between trade, exploration and the opening up of the New World
• Consider the growth of industrialization and its effect on world events
• Contrast the Industrial Revolutions of Great Britain and the United States

Intellectual life (Art, Education, Literature and Language, Writing, Science, Calendar and Time)

• Investigate the development of writing and the spread of languages
• Put Shakespeare and his plays into their context in Elizabethan England
• Examine the ongoing battle between science and religion and learn why Galileo was imprisoned for his discoveries

Material life (Food, Clothing, Drink, Appearance, Housing, Science)

• Taste history! Follow an ancient Assyrian recipe for fowl, or prepare authentic Aztec tortillas
• Survey fashions through the ages and find out what women really thought about corsets and stays
• Compare and contrast household characteristics in the Arab world with those in Europe

Political life (Government, Social structure, Warfare, Weapons)

• Compare different forms of government and see how they affected ordinary citizens
• Learn how societies responded to wars and revolutions
• Find out what superweapon vanquished the ancient Egyptians

Recreational life (Holidays, festivals and spectacles, Sports and games, Dance, Music and Theater)

• Find out that the Vikings went skiing and the Chinese played football
• Discover when, where, and why the celebration of Christmas was outlawed in America
• Examine how theater evolved from religious rites

Religious life (Beliefs, Rituals, Death, burial and the afterlife, Magic and superstition, Churches)

• Gain insight into world's major religions and their belief systems
• Examine the structure and symbolism of religious buildings, from ancient temples to parish churches
• Understand the historical basis for interfaith tensions in today's world

History (Economy, Politics, Government)

• Learn about daily life under different political systems, from democracies to military dictatorships
• Understand what "defines" wealth in different countries - is it owning a cow, owning a car, or owning a house?
• Put individual countries in their historical context and relate this to their status in the modern world

Food (Traditional food, drink, eating out)

• Appreciate world culinary traditions, from foodstuffs to table manners
• Try recipes for Basque fish stew or Tahitian salad
• Follow the Japanese "Way of Tea" or join Indonesian café culture
• Has the "fast-food culture" of the U.S. spread to every corner of the world?

Geography (Climate, population, language)

• Explore jungles, deserts, and mountain ranges and understand their effect on the people who live in and around them
• Take "a lik'l tase" of Jamaican Creole
• Report on how climate conditions have caused large population shifts (growth or shrinkage)

Religion (Belief, practice, ritual)

• Compare the beliefs and practices of the world's major religions and see how they directly affect daily life
• Understand the importance of rituals and ceremonies at key life stages such as birth, marriage, and death in different regions of the world
• Move in the world of the Bantu, where sorcery is real, and witchcraft can harm

Social customs (Hospitality, greetings, social structure)

• Learn when to shake hands and when to keep your distance
• What's in a name? Investigate various naming conventions and find out what a name can reveal about relatives, caste, or birth order
• "There is always another tomorrow" - discuss differing attitudes to punctuality

Holidays and festivals (Holy days, national holidays, religious holidays)

• Celebrate May Day, The Festival of the Moon, or a festa
• Make the link between kite flying and the Day of the Dead
• Compare Christmas and New Year festivities around the Christian world

Family life (Birth, children, marriage, death)

• Research gender politics and the role of women in Africa; South America
• Follow life cycles and the rituals that accompany them in two different countries
• Examine kinship structures and the role of family in Japan vs. the U.S.

Clothing (Traditional clothing, fashion)

• Discuss why fashionable young women in Turkey are choosing to wear a veil
• "You eat for yourself but wear for others" - explore the meaning of this Pakistani proverb and contrast with the attitudes of other cultures
• Consider aspects of personal appearance such as tattoos, scarring, and piercing

Leisure (Sports, vacations, nightlife, shopping)

• Explain the French custom for country-wide vacations in August
• Show how sports migrated to other countries - such as baseball from the U.S. to Japan; or motor racing from Italy to the U.S.
• Investigate a potential holiday destination

Arts (Literature, painting, performing arts, media, architecture)

• Study Gabriel Garcia Marquez and magic realism in context
• Find out about films - what do people watch in Palestine, Mexico, or India?
• Examine architectural styles, from whitewashed Greek churches to glass-and-steel malls