Past Institutes

Landmark Supreme Court Cases

In February 2019, Humanities Texas held one-day teacher workshops in Austin and Houston focusing on landmark Supreme Court cases.

Faculty and curriculum

The workshops focused on milestone cases in Supreme Court history related to civil liberties, civil rights, defining federal power, and criminal procedure. Content was aligned with the secondary social studies TEKS, with particular emphasis on the standards for U.S. government and history.

The workshops featured close interaction with scholars, the examination of primary sources, and the development of effective pedagogical strategies and engaging assignments and activities. Teachers received books and other instructional materials. 

Workshop faculty included Michael Les Benedict (The Ohio State University), Eric K. Klein (attorney and former public defender, Colorado), Joseph F. Kobylka (Southern Methodist University), and Cullen Macbeth (federal public defender, Maryland).

Locations and schedules

Download the Austin schedule and Houston schedule. The Austin workshop took place on February 5 at the Byrne-Reed House. We held the Houston workshop on February 7 at Bayou Bend Collection and Gardens.

Sponsors

The workshops were made possible with major funding from the State of Texas, with ongoing support from the National Endowment for the Humanities.