My students research hate groups and develop action plans to combat the negative messages the groups spread. | Not in Our Town

My students research hate groups and develop action plans to combat the negative messages the groups spread.

Alverno College 53234 Milwaukee , WI
United States
Wisconsin US

Location

Alverno College 53234 Milwaukee , WI
United States
43° 0' 0" N, 87° 58' 12" W
Wisconsin US

Each student in my college level linguistics course becomes the class expert on a particular hate group. The student researches the group thoroughly and analyzes their messages and tactics. Drawing on theories of persuasion and concepts from their study of General Semantics, and referencing two videos: Faces of the Enemy by Sam Keen and Hate.com,  they develop a keen understanding of how each group is able to create and sustain the idea of an other or an enemy, how they recruit and retain members, and how they spread their message.

Then each student creates and educational action plan to combat the messages of hate. All of this is shared with our community in an end-of-the-semester symposium.

We are in the process of creating a course website to share our research and action plans. When it is finished, I will supply the link.

Here's how I'm taking action against hate: