Koppelman Scholar Program

Rider’s University’s Julius and Dorothy Koppelman Holocaust | Genocide Resource Center of the Center for Diversity and Inclusion and the College of Education and Human Services (CEHS) have partnered on an initiative to increase awareness and understanding of genocides, including the Holocaust, as well as other historical injustices.

As part of Dr. Mark Pearcy's “Teaching Social Studies in the Secondary School” course, students are asked to create a social studies media project (lesson plans) that will serve as a resource guide for K-12 teachers and students looking to learn more about issues such as:

• Race
• Historical racism/discrimination
• The Holocaust
• History of Judaism/Jewish people and culture
• Historical/contemporary genocide
• Reparations (for indigenous or dispossessed populations)
• Or related topics 

Following project submissions, the top three projects are selected by the instructor and ranked by a panel of judges. The program culminates with an award ceremony to recognize the top three students. 

2023 Koppelman Scholars and Educational materials

The following media projects, created by the 2023 Koppelman Scholars, contain education materials to assist teachers with teaching about varied historical injustices. Each project includes an overview, lesson plans, suggested language and additional resources.

Andrew Greenstein '23

• Media Project: The Forgotten Lessons: The Teaching of Northern Slavery
• Synopsis: This guide focuses on the fact that slavery was a nationwide institution and that many students never learn about the history of slavery in the northern states. New Jersey was the last state to abolish the practice. This guide examines the teaching of slavery in New Jersey and the tri-state area by analyzing textbooks from the 1870s to gain a deeper understanding of how this history was erased from the collective memory.

View Guide (PDF)

Zoe Nalepa '23

• Media Project: Antisemitism and Discrimination against Jewish Immigrants in the United States
• Synopsis: This guide focuses on the rise of antisemitism and discrimination against Jewish people by examining political cartoons, anti-Jewish propaganda, and print media in the 1930s and 1940s. 

View Guide (PDF)

Noah Phayre '23

• Media Project: The Haitian Revolution
• Synopsis: This guide focuses on the revolution that abolished slavery on the island and established the Empire of Haiti. It further examines the impact this revolution had on the United States of America, other nations and enslaved communities.

View Guide (PDF)

For more information about the Koppelman Scholars program, please contact: