Lesson 1: Introduction- Deconstructing the concept of “civilization”

This lesson plan encourages students to think critically about the concept of “civilization.” The ideology of “civilization” served to legitimize colonization in the minds of the colonizers by creating a belief in the inferiority of Indigenous populations and positioned Europeans as superior. A common narrative in many American history textbooks is that Europeans came to the Americas to save and “civilize” the Native tribes and empires. Yet, students are missing an important piece of that narrative: the fact that these indigenous communities already had key elements of “civilization.” Students will learn about definitions of civilization, analyze images related to European and Indigenous cultures, and answer questions that will complicate their notions of “civilization.”