I am a citizen of the World
The ROEPER SCHOOL
Cultural Exploration Day
SPECIAL OFFERINGS
February 2, 2024
Masala making & the history of food in India
Diya Oberoi Upper School (double block)
Get an introduction to Indian culture and food history as you make masalas – the spice blends used to add flavor to many traditional Indian dishes.
Dumplings from around the world
Amy Turner Middle School (double block)
Explore how dumplings have evolved in different communities around the world while learning to make different types. All recipes contain flour, and some contain meat (including pork) and dairy.
“
Home Game”: Cultural Exploration Through Sport
Celia Kaechele Middle & Upper School
Architecture and Culture
Jordan Norgard
Middle & Upper School
Watch a (25-30 min) episode of the series “Home Game” , which highlights traditional sports from around the world and the cultures and communities that created them. Following the episode, discuss the role of sports in our own communities and cultures and draw comparisons to what was viewed.
Art has always been very intertwined with culture in some form or another across the world. It can be an expression of ideas and emotions and can convey messages beyond language that can be understood by many inside and outside of the culture. Specifically, architecture can reflect values of communities and cultures. In this workshop examples will be shown of how the built world around us and buildings in cities can showcase a unique perspective on cultures.
Disability Inclusion
Morris Brown
Middle & Upper School
Pride Around the World
Barbara Lasecki-Webb with Logan Parkison and Bex Upper School
Discuss universal design and discuss one company's (Stellantis) approach to leverage DIVERSE*abilities Business Resource Group.
The Canon Event: What Roeper Reads and Why?
Ben Fisher and Roz Giroux
Middle & Upper School
In this open-ended discussion, students will take some time to discuss what books are part of the curriculum at Roeper. What books should everyone read? What is the goal of our class reading lists? What should the goal be? Is it possible to read the canon/"Great Books" (think The Great Gatsby, The Odyssey, Animal Farm, The Outsiders, etc.) while pursuing justice? Who gets to choose what is "important" to read? Are there any authors right now who will one day be "canon" authors? What should reading and Roeper look like? Be part of the conversation.
Teacher and student led discussion of various ways humans celebrate LGBTQ pride around the world followed by an art/craft for students to engage in pride locally.
Human Relations: A George Roeper Socratic Workshop
Lori Lutz Middle School
How many of you have heard George Roeper's lesson on Bobby and the bear that gets caught in the thicket? When I was a young student, "Mr. Roeper" (as he was then known) would come into our classroom to teach a course called "Human Relations" in which he would help us to develop a capacity for moral reasoning. In this workshop, you will be invited to think through a famous ethically challenging case of human relations and collaborate with fellow students in justifying your proposed resolution.
Diverse Motivations and Approaches for Studying Cultural Variation
Ben Shepard 8th grade & Upper School
In this workshop, students will critically examine how scholars have advocated for the study of cultural variation in the past and present. As we will see, answers to the question “Why study cultural variation?” vary wildly between historical contexts. Students will read, view, or listen to sources that illustrate different approaches and justifications for studying cultural diversity, and will create posters to share what they learn about these distinct approaches. We will conclude by considering the question “Why study cultural variation *at Roeper*?
Exploring Cultural and Global Identity Through Making Making and Art
Wendy Mayer
Middle & Upper School (double block)
Life In Small Town
Learn about how different groups use making to express their culture and make an artifact to express your cultural and global identity.
Luis, Filo and I will do a presentation about what it's like to spend time in Luis' hometown, Zacoalco de Torres. It's a small town of about 30,000 in a rural area of Jalisco, about an hour from Guadalajara, and has some pretty significant differences in lifestyle from ours here in suburban Detroit. We'll use a projector/smart tv to show pictures of the town, use google maps to give a virtual tour, and cook something traditionally Mexican together at the end to eat and enjoy while fielding some questions.
Learn to be a master at dreidel aka Jewish gambling.
The Art of Jewish Gambling
Hannah Rosenstock Middle School
Mexico
Sara Mendez
Middle & Upper School
Ivana Thomas 7th & 8th grades; Upper School
Isha Oberoi Upper School
Learn one or two traditional Greek dances and explore a bit of history about the dance.
Israeli Foods, Traditions and Holidays
Riley Gorelkin
Middle & Upper School
Join in for a discussion about holidays like Passover; learn about the traditions and foods for those holidays.
This Bollywood dance workshop is fun and energetic. Participants will learn a short and easy combo; it’s a chance to try something new and get a little exercise.
Amy Cova
Middle & Upper School
Come join Amy & Karen Prall, a modern dance and African dance instructor at Wayne State University. We will dance accompanied by a drummer from the dance company that is performing at our Cultural Exploration Assembly.
Traditional Greek Dance
Bollywood Dance Combo
Congolese Dance
Fun with Puzzles & Brain Teasers
Camellia Lewis Middle School
Welcome to the RENAISSANCE! Global Ballroom Culture & Beyoncé’s Renaissance
Patrick Harris Upper School
Let’s have fun as we challenge our thinking and expand our logic skills working together to solve puzzles and brain teasers.
Globalizing protest and the spatialization of race through music in the 1980s and 1990s
Matt Vallus Upper School
We will take a brief look at how musicians coalesce in the 1980s to bring attention to various global issues in the 1980s. Additionally, we will see how this shifts in the 1990s and explore how, as historian Mark Anthony Neal puts it, "the emergence of hip-hop as a mainstream pop music in the 1990s represented a shift in the traditional logic of crossover". If time, we will also take a look at how sitcoms are "spatializing" other ideas through various "get-real" episodes.
In this session, we explore the creation of Ballroom culture from the 1980s amidst the AIDS Epidemic and how ballroom has become mainstream over the past few years, but especially through the release of Beyoncé’s Renaissance. Together, we will compare and contrast Beyoncé’s release to beginning of Ballroom while debating if ballroom has been subjected to cultural appropriation and the global impact on queer and trans people.
What’s Going On? Exploring how artists use music to fight against social injustice
Patrick Harris
Middle & Upper School
International music icon Nina Simone shared with the world that it is her duty as an artist to reflect the times. In this session, we will explore just that. Together, we will listen to and analyze an array of music from around the world that responds to world events. We will have a discussion about the effectiveness of these songs, the craft moves used, and generally the importance of using music to respond to global injustice. At the end, participants will write a song of their own and engage in a cypher.
Flag or No
Flag – Should Roeper let it fly?
Dan Jacobs
Middle & Upper School
Let’s discuss whether or not Roeper should fly a U.S. flag in front of the building. What are the implications of either position?
Math from Around the World
Kevin Kildea
Middle & Upper School
This workshop explores the differences in mathematical communication, culture, approach, and procedures. Despite these differences, math is universal but can be approached from various perspectives.
Stage II