Areas of Inquiry (Essential Questions)
- How do we explore the ghettoization of Jews during WWII?
- How has the issue of ghettoization been explored creatively - through poetry and music?
Case Study Rationale (Introduction)
"...So with eager confidence I breathe life through parch and penQuill and ink of good intent can quell feuds and arguments...Breathing life into my penIn great traditions, now and then,Truth begins to make amends for mistakes made by the leaders of menWordsLike glyphs, stand for all timeNot even the guns of Alexander, Napoleon or Hitler could stifle these linesWillie Shakespeare said it onceOscar Wilde posed it, too -Ars longa, vita breveSo long lives this, immortality for youThe life brought to my pen is of heavenly decreeSo, these words and thoughts aren't really of me"
- excerpted from "In the Beginning" by Sonja Moore, 2006
There is the notion of life mirroring art or is it the other way around? When the content evokes painful or difficult memories or emotions, it is easy to deny the truth of what an original piece suggests. If, however, "life is but a stage and we are all players" how can the "playwright" be at fault? I submit that the artists, writers, poets and musicians of the 20th and 21st centuries have had the burden of seeing what others may have long since forgotten. They are the griots, the djelis, the bards, the storytellers charged with immortalizing the causes and effects of cultures of violence and decay. It is through their work that we can begin to deconstruct our past, present and future understanding of our life experiences.
This site seeks to look at how we have defined, explored and learned from the life experiences of Jews in the ghettoes of Poland. The purpose here is two-fold: to honor the lives and legacies of the Polish ghettoes and to compare-contrast their experiences to those in the African American ghettoes of the 20th century to the present. I intend to accomplish this by looking at how we define and use the word "ghetto" (past & present connotations) and what kinds of ghettoes existed then and now. Furthermore, I wish to archive a number of poems, songs (lyrics, audio files, video files) that relate to Jewish and African American ghettoes.
Questions for Further Study (based on Scope & Sequence)
For further study by teachers or PA's....
1. How is identity formed or affected by life in the ghetto?
2. Who were the inhabitants of the ghettoes?
3. How does society view ghetto inhabitants?
4. What kinds of ghettoes existed in Poland during WWII?
5. To what extent did the Jewish ghettoes affect the development of contemporary ghettoes?
6. What are the social, emotional, political and economic ramifications of ghetto life to its inhabitants?
7. What has been their contribution to society?
8. To what extent do/did ghetto inhabitants proactive citizens?
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