Stage 1: Introduction to the topic (15 minutes; Professor – Class mode). The teacher will ask the students to brainstorm their ideas on the topic of religious oppression to investigate their background knowledge and initial representations. After brainstorming, the educator will cover the basic domains and concepts related to religion, confessions, oppression, and discrimination based on religious differences. Stage 2: Religious family backgrounds (40 minutes; Group discussion). The purpose of the activity is to enable students to place themselves in the religious context and reflect on their self-image. The students will share their cultural and religious heritage reflected in their name, background, and traditions exhibited in their family. Part of the assignment will be to compare and contrast the differences they notice when talking about religions and nationalities (Hollins, 2013). The integral outcome will be to allow students to conduct self-identification within diverse cultural contexts. Stage 3: Religious privileges (45 minutes; Group discussion and Professor-Class mode). The students will discuss and create a chart of privileges that the representatives of different confessions can have. In particular, they will address if they have any privileges in the USA. After that, they will be required to discuss the experience of people who do not have the same religious privileges and what its consequences or effects are. When the group discussion is over, the professor will collect the lists and create a chart based on students’ answers to reflect on the rightfulness of keeping certain population groups underprivileged and the way the US Constitution oversees this issue. Break (15 minutes). Stage 4: Types and Levels of Oppression (History and the Modernity) (45 minutes) The professor will present the information regarding the types of oppression that have been exhibited throughout the history of the USA and the levels of discrimination faced at present. The particular emphasis will be made on the current events (for instance, terroristic acts that occurred and their influence on the society’s perception of particular religious groups). Students will share and justify their opinions on the latest occurrences. Stage 5: “At Play in the Fields of the Lord” (Brincando nos Campos do Senhor) (the USA, 1991) (40 minutes) The professor will show excerpts of the movie to encourage students’ thinking about the manifestations of oppression and will provide explanations to them to drive students’ comprehension. Stage 6: Social Activism (30 minutes) The educator will ask the students to compile the ideas they gained from the movie with the Constitutional safeguards for religious freedom and the values promoted by society and analyze the way individuals can become active participants in changing society to become more inclusive. Stage 7: Closing questions (10 minutes; Professor – Class mode). |