The Middle East has been a central focus of American foreign policy since the end of World War II. This seminar will examine the strategic significance of the region, its internal dynamics, and the basic outlines of American foreign policy over the past few decades. While the first half of the seminar will concentrate on the historical context of the region, the second half will turn to the future. Participants will look at the various challenges facing the new President̬such as Iran, Iraq, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict—and the various options open to him.

Viewed as everything from an extension of frontier ideology to the expression of counter culture, the road narrative genre has been an enduring and popular American cultural form. Whether mainstream or marginal, road narratives feature a protagonist (or pair) who embraces the geographical freedom represented by the automobile in order to attain a range of other mobilities—from the psychological and sexual to the social and economic. In this seminar, participants will examine this genre in relation to an American ideology of both spatial and social mobility. Beginning with the first transcontinental road novel, published in 1912, participants will look at a range of texts that feature protagonists whose identities vary in relation to class, gender, and race in order to understand how road narratives illuminate an issue of mobility central to their larger historical and cultural moments. To enhance our discussion of the primary sources, participants will view a selection of maps, advertisements, and photographs from the Newberry collections related to road travel.

In this seminar, participants will read three pieces that either take new approaches to Civil War history, or reflect critically on the ways that historians are addressing the period. Participants will be interested in exploring the innovative methodologies or theoretical approaches used by scholars to ask and answer new questions. Of particular concern for these readings will be issues of gender, memory-construction, and the persistent interest of scholars in the event.

This workshop will use resources from the Buck Institute and others to focus on both the theory and implementation of Problem-Based Learning (PBL).

Who killed the Iceman? What really happened at the Battle of the Little Big Horn? What became of the lost colony of Roanoke? Who was the Man in the Iron Mask? How did Cortez conquer the Aztecs? Teachers can use these and mysteries like them to focus student attention AND meet state standards. This workshop will provide resources, examples, and time to begin constructing a history mystery unit.

This institute invites educators from across the country to learn about Abraham Lincoln through the Library of Congress's primary and web-based materials. Participants will leave with strategies and materials they can use in their schools. The institute uses the Library's exhibition "With Malice Toward None: The Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Exhibition" as its foundation.

This institute invites educators from across the country to learn about Abraham Lincoln through the Library of Congress's primary and web-based materials. Participants will leave with strategies and materials they can use in their schools. The institute uses the Library's exhibition "With Malice Toward None: The Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Exhibition" as its foundation.

This institute invites educators from across the country to learn about Abraham Lincoln through the Library of Congress's primary and web-based materials. Participants will leave with strategies and materials they can use in their schools. The institute uses the Library's exhibition "With Malice Toward None: The Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Exhibition" as its foundation.

The Academy offers educators content and strategies for teaching the "Seven Principles of Constitutionalism" and the "U.S. Constitution in Time of Crisis." Important events and decisions concerning equality in American history will also be studied. A team of talented scholars and consultants will present information and lessons dealing with TAKS Objectives One and Four. A variety of demonstrated lessons will incorporate multi-use visuals, music, and interactive strategies.

The institute is an intensive, professional development program on the U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights. Participants take part in lectures and discussions on constitutional themes pertinent to the curriculum content, classroom strategies, and performance assessment. An essential component of the institute is teacher preparation and participation in a simulated congressional hearing as a culminating activity. The hearing is a model for student hearings to be held during the school year. Experienced teacher mentors assist participants in discussing the challenges of teaching civic education and preparing for the culminating hearing.