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This summer, Humanities Texas will hold free online professional development institutes for Texas teachers covering topics in U.S. history, Texas history, and English language arts.

For history teachers, we will hold institutes on the founding of America (June 15–19), on the Cold War (June 22–26), and on Texas as a borderland from 1820–1835 (July 6–10). For English language arts teachers, we will hold institutes on teaching the American literary tradition (July 6–10) and teaching literature at the secondary level (July 13–17).

Like all Humanities Texas teacher programs, the institutes will focus on topics central to the state's U.S. history, Texas history, and English language arts curricula. The institutes emphasize interaction with scholars, the examination of primary sources and texts, and the development of effective pedagogical strategies and engaging assignments and activities. Teachers accepted to the programs will be expected to attend all sessions.

Founding a New Nation

From June 15–19, 2020, Humanities Texas will hold an online professional development institute for Texas teachers covering U.S. history during the founding period. The institute will address the challenges confronted by the government and its leaders in the early years of the republic. The schedule is as follows:

  • Monday, June 15: George Washington: Defining the Presidency
  • Tuesday, June 16: Alexander Hamilton and the Development
    of the U.S. Economic System
  • Wednesday, June 17: Thomas Jefferson and the Rise
    of Political Parties
  • Thursday, June 18: American Society During
    the Founding Period
  • Friday, June 19: Establishing the Federal Judiciary

The program faculty includes Zara Anishanslin (University of Delaware), Kate Elizabeth Brown (Western Kentucky University), Denver Brunsman (George Washington University), Lindsay M. Chervinsky (White House Historical Association), and Joseph F. Kobylka (Southern Methodist University).

The Cold War

From June 22–26, 2020, Humanities Texas will hold an online professional development institute for Texas teachers addressing topics central to the history of the Cold War. The schedule is as follows:

  • Monday, June 22: Origins of the Cold War
  • Tuesday, June 23: The Cold War and American Society
  • Wednesday, June 24: War and Foreign Engagements
    of the Cold War
  • Thursday, June 25: Scientific and Economic Transformations During the Cold War
  • Friday, June 26: The End of the Cold War and its Legacy

The program faculty includes Mary Ann Heiss (Kent State University), Mark A. Lawrence (LBJ Presidential Library), David M. Oshinsky (New York University), and H. W. Brands and Jeremi Suri, both of The University of Texas at Austin.

Texas as a Borderland, 1820–1835

From July 6–10, 2020, Humanities Texas will hold an online professional development institute for Texas teachers covering Texas history during the 1820s and early 1830s. The institute will emphasize the perspectives of different groups—American Indians, Tejanos, Mexicans outside of Texas, and Anglo-Americans—on the developments in Texas during this era. The schedule is as follows:

  • Monday, July 6: American Indians in Texas
  • Tuesday, July 7: Tejanos in Texas
  • Wednesday, July 8: Mexico and Texas
  • Thursday, July 9: Anglo-Americans and Texas
  • Friday, July 10: The Road to Revolution

The program faculty includes Gregg Cantrell (Texas Christian University), Jesús F. de la Teja (former Texas State Historian), Will Fowler (University of St. Andrews), and F. Todd Smith and Andrew Torget, both of the University of North Texas.

Teaching the American Literary Tradition

From July 6–10, 2020, Humanities Texas will hold an online professional development institute for Texas teachers focused on the American literary tradition. The institute will provide approaches to reading and understanding central authors, texts, and eras from our nation's diverse literary tradition. The schedule is as follows:

  • Monday, July 6: Teaching American Literature
  • Tuesday, July 7: Connecting Students to
    Nineteenth-Century Literature
  • Wednesday, July 8: American Literature of the 1920s
  • Thursday, July 9: Teaching Texas Literature
  • Friday, July 10: Teaching Mexican American Literature

The program faculty includes James H. Cox (The University of Texas at Austin), Amy Earhart (Texas A&M University), Andres Lopez (Northside Independant School District), Sarah Ruffing Robbins (Texas Christian University), and Michael Soto and Claudia Stokes, both of Trinity University.

Teaching Literature

From July 13–17, 2020, Humanities Texas will hold an online professional development institute for Texas teachers on teaching literature at the secondary level. Faculty presentations will provide resources and strategies for helping students to become better readers of poetry, fiction, drama, and expository prose. The schedule is as follows:

  • Monday, July 13: Teaching Poetry
  • Tuesday, July 14: Teaching Fiction
  • Wednesday, July 15: Teaching Drama
  • Thursday, July 16: Teaching Nonfiction
  • Friday, July 17: Teaching Students to Write about Literature

The program faculty includes Maryse Jayasuriya (The University of Texas at El Paso), David Kornhaber (The University of Texas at Austin) and Greg Brownderville, Darryl Dickson-Carr, and Marta Krogh of Southern Methodist University.

The institutes are open to all middle and high school social studies, language arts, and humanities teachers but will focus on topics and skills central to the state's secondary U.S. history, Texas history, and language arts curricula. Priority consideration will be given to early-career teachers in low-performing schools and districts.

More information about each program is available in the Education section of the Humanities Texas website. Teachers interested in attending should complete the online application form as soon as possible, as admissions are rolling and space is limited.

Please note that due to space limitations, you must be a registered participant to attend any of the institutes. Registration will close at 5:00 p.m. CT on the Thursday before each institute.

These programs are made possible with support from the State of Texas and the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Washington Crossing the Delaware by Emanuel Leutze, 1851. Gift of John Stewart Kennedy, 1897. The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
President Reagan giving a speech at the Berlin Wall, Brandenburg Gate, Federal Republic of Germany, June 12, 1987. Courtesy of Ronald Reagan Presidential Library.
From A Comprehensive Atlas: Geographical, Historical & Commercial by T. G. Bradford, 1835. Courtesy of Dorothy Sloan Rare Books via the online Perry-Castañeda Library Map Collection, University of Texas Libraries.
Interior of dome in the Main Reading Room of the Library of Congress Thomas Jefferson Building, Washington, DC. Photograph by Carol M. Highsmith. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division.
Still Life with French Novels and a Rose, by Vincent Van Gogh, 1887. Oil on canvas. Private collection.