News from Hemispheres

News from Hemispheres is a free biannual newsletter for teachers who use, or would like to incorporate, area studies materials in the classroom.  In addition to announcing upcoming events and available resources, News from Hemispheres is designed as a tool for teachers—brief articles are written for student readers and can be implemented easily in lessons on international themes.

Subscriptions

Subscriptions to the Hemispheres newsletter are free. 

1. Hard Copy: To receive a hard copy of the Hemispheres newsletter via US mail, please send your name, school, and preferred mailing address to hemispheres@austin.utexas.edu
2. Electronic: To receive an electronic version of the newsletter in Adobe Acrobat Reader (PDF) format, please join the Hemispheres Newsletter mailing list. You will be sent an e-mail when the latest issue of Hemispheres is published, notifying you where you can download the new issue.

Back Issues

• Fall 2009 (792 KB)—"The City."  Why did cities first form? What function did cities historically serve? Why are cities important today? What do cities offer that people can’t get in the countryside? How do cities accommodate growing populations, and is it always possible to plan for new people?  This issue features four articles that focus on the urban phenomenon, where it came from—and where it's going.

• Spring 2009 (1.4 MB)—"Current Events." Does the news media portray certain regions of the world in a more negative light than the United States? This issue features four articles that focus on positive news stories, plus suggestions for classroom activities in media literacy that highlight media trends in reporting about the rest of the world—and about the United States.

• Fall 2008 (540 KB)—"Defining Human Rights."  What are human rights?  Who defines them?  Can the definition change?  This issue features a vote with your feet activity that asks students to consider human rights in their broader definition, and to consider what constitutes a human "right" vs. a "privilege."

• Spring 2008 (1.3 MB)—"Restoring Women to World Studies." This issue features an image analysis activity that focuses on photographs of women from each region, with short articles to provide background information, and links to further resources.

• Fall 2007 (376 KB)—"Explorers, Traders and Immigrants." This issue features short excerpts from our new curriculum unit that uses primary source documents to track the spread of various commodities around the world, and their cultural, social, and political effects on various societies.

• Spring 2007 (376 KB)—"Catching up with Hemispheres." This issue discusses new resources and initiatives that we have introduced in recent years, including our new curriculum materials, professional development for educators around the state of Texas (and beyond), and opportunities for educator travel abroad.

• Fall 2006 (376 KB)—This issue examines notable women from Inda, Democracy in Latin America, Investigating Human Rights in Morocco and The Challenges of Chechnya.

• Spring 2006 (376 KB)— This issue revisits the theme from “Antiquity and Continuity,” Hemispheres’ 2006 Summer Teachers’ Institute.

• Fall 2005 (376 KB)—This issue commemorates the UN International Year of Microcredit, looking at small-credit programs that benefit women and low-income people around the world.

• Spring 2005 (423 KB)—This issue examines notable women from each of the four regions represented by Hemispheres.

• Fall 2004 (491 KB)—This issue features articles on human geography in Egypt, India, Latin America, and Russia that were developed from the 2004 Summer Teachers' Institute.

• Spring 2004 (512 KB)—This issue features articles on individual outreach projects from each of Hemispheres' 4 component centers.

• Fall 2003 (488 KB)—This issue features articles on food culture, and recipes from around the world.

• Spring 2003 (171 KB)—This issue features an advocate/decision-making activity based on lessons presented at the 2002 Summer Teachers' Institute.

• Fall 2002 (248 KB)—Part two of our Holidays around the World series, covering the months July - December.

• Spring 2002 (184 KB)—Part one of our Holidays around the World series, covering the months January - June.

• Fall 2001 (208 KB)—This article features highlights from the 2001 Summer Teachers' Institute, new resources from Hemispheres' lending libraries, and spotlight on current events.