Past Institutes

Shaping the American Republic to 1877

In June 2012, Humanities Texas held institutes on university campuses in Brownsville and San Antonio examining significant events and themes in U.S. history from the colonial era through Reconstruction. The curriculum tracked to the state standards for eighth-grade U.S. history.

The Brownsville institute faculty included Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Jack N. Rakove (Stanford University), Daniel Feller (University of Tennessee), Charles Flanagan (National Archives), Kenneth Stevens (Texas Christian University), Carey Latimore (Trinity University), and Stacy Fuller (Amon Carter Museum), as well as UT Brownsville scholars Manuel F. Medrano, Thomas Britten, Hariett Denise Joseph, Anthony Knopp, James Mills, Philip Samponaro, Amanda Taylor-Montoya, and Michael Van Wagenen.

The San Antonio institute faculty included Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Gordon S. Wood (Brown University), Daniel Feller (University of Tennessee), Charles Flanagan (National Archives), Jennifer L. Weber (University of Kansas), Daina Ramey Berry (UT Austin), Michael Les Benedict (The Ohio State University), Francis X. Galán (Our Lady of the Lake University), and Stacy Fuller (Amon Carter Museum), as well as UTSA scholars Steven R. Boyd, Kirsten Gardner, Kenneth Weiher, and Patrick J. Kelly.

As in past years, institutes emphasized close interaction with scholars, the examination of primary sources, and the development of effective pedagogical strategies and engaging assignments and activities. The programs were designed ultimately to enhance teachers' mastery of the subjects they teach and to improve students' performance on state assessments.

Brownsville Resources

• Thomas Britten, “Native Americans and Western Expansion”
• Daniel Feller, “Jacksonian Democracy”
• Charles Flanagan, “Teaching the Constitution”, Docs Teach website
• Stacy Fuller, “Teaching U.S. History through Art”
• Harriet Denise Joseph, “Early Spanish Colonization”
• Anthony Knopp, “The American Revolution”
• Carey Latimore, “Slavery”
• Manuel Medrano, “Oral History in the Classroom”, Los del Valle website
• James Mills, “Sectionalism and the Civil War”
• Jack N. Rakove, “How Americans Invented their Constitution” and “The Bill of Rights”
• Philip Samponaro, “Religion and Culture of the British Colonies”
• Kenneth Stevens, “The Early Republic”
• Amanda Taylor-Montoya, “Reconstruction”
• Michael Van Wagenen, “The Mexican-American War”

San Antonio Resources

• Michael Les Benedict, “Reconstruction”
• Daina Ramey Berry, “Slavery”
• Steven R. Boyd, “The Marshall Court”
• Daniel Feller, “The Age of Jackson”
• Charles Flanagan, “The Constitution and the Bill of Rights”, Docs Teach website
• Stacy Fuller, “Teaching U.S. History through Art”
• Francis X. Galán, “The Spanish Colonial Period”
• Kirsten Gardner, “Women and Suffrage”
• Patrick J. Kelly, “Lincoln and Emancipation”
• Jennifer L. Weber, “Sectionalism”
• Kenneth Weiher, “Topics in Economic Growth and Development”
• Gordon S. Wood, “Empire of Liberty” and “The Making of the U.S. Constitution”

Final Report

The final report, to be published later in 2012, will include a full account of the institute and lengthy excerpts from faculty presentations, as well as participant biographies, a summary of participant evaluations, and photographs.

Sponsors and Partners

Sponsors included The University of Texas at Brownsville, The University of Texas at San Antonio. Program partners included the Center for Legislative Archives at the National Archives, the Amon Carter Museum of American Art, and the Institute for Texan Cultures.

These institutes were made possible with major funding from the state of Texas and ongoing support from the National Endowment for the Humanities.