Upcoming Institutes

Teaching the Civil War and Reconstruction (2023 In-Person Institute)

WAITLIST ONLY - Humanities Texas has received more applications from teachers than we can accommodate for this program. From June 20–23, 2023, Humanities Texas will hold a teacher institute in Houston on the Civil War and Reconstruction eras.

Dates and Location

The institute will take place in Houston on the campus of Rice University from June 20–23, 2023.

Curriculum

Content will be aligned with the TEKS. The institute will cover significant topics in Civil War and Reconstruction history from the antebellum period through the legacies of Reconstruction. Presentations will focus on such topics as slavery, the road to the Civil War, abolitionists, the Fugitive Slave Act, the Compromise of 1850, Dred Scott v. Sanford, teaching the Civil War through maps, how Americans fought, Chocktaw Confederates and the Civil War West, Juneteenth, Reconstruction, and the Reconstruction Amendments.

Like all Humanities Texas teacher programs, the institute will emphasize close interaction with scholars, the examination of primary sources, and the development of effective pedagogical strategies and engaging assignments and activities.

Faculty

Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Annette Gordon-Reed, the Carl M. Loeb University Professor at Harvard University, will deliver the institute's keynote address. Caleb McDaniel (Rice University) will serve as faculty director for the institute. Faculty for the institute include Gregory Downs (University of California, Davis), Signe Fourmy (The University of Texas at Austin), Scott Hancock (Gettysburg College), Kelly Kennington (Auburn University), Andrew Lang (Mississippi State University), Susan Schulten (University of Denver), Aaron Sheehan-Dean (Louisiana State University), Kidada Williams (Wayne State University), Fay Yarbrough (Rice University), and Whitney Stewart and Benjamin Wright of The University of Texas at Dallas.

Eligibility

WAITLIST ONLY - Humanities Texas has received more applications from teachers than we can accommodate for this program. The institute is open to secondary-level social studies teachers in Texas schools. Priority consideration will be given to early-career teachers in low-performing schools and districts.

Stipend, Travel Reimbursement, and CPE Credit

The institutes are free to teachers and their schools. Participants will receive a $400 stipend as well as CPE credit and a wealth of curricular materials. Stipends and CPE hours will be adjusted if a participant misses any portion of the program.

Teachers traveling to the institute from out of town will be reimbursed for approved travel costs up to $300. Eligible expenses include use of a personal automobile, air travel, airport parking, and taxi fares. Meals are not reimbursable. Reimbursement rates are set by the State of Texas. Itemized receipts are required for all costs excluding gas. Please review the Humanities Texas travel policy for program participants for more information.

Please note that Humanities Texas's maximum reimbursement for travel expenses is $300, even if the participant's actual expenses exceed $300.

Lodging

On-campus accommodations will not be provided for this institute. A block of hotel rooms reserved by Humanities Texas will be available to participating teachers. We will contact all out-of-town participants accepted to the institute via email about reserving a room in the group block. Humanities Texas will cover the cost of these rooms during the institute.

Alternatively, participants will be able to make their own lodging arrangements for which we will reimburse costs following participation in the institute. This lodging reimbursement will be in addition to the $300 travel reimbursement. For additional details, please review the Humanities Texas travel policy.

How to Apply

Complete the online application. Please apply as soon as possible, as registration will occur on a rolling basis and space is limited.

Sponsors

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

Questions about Teacher Institutes

Call 512.440.1991 or email institutes@humanitiestexas.org.