This seminar will be "organized around ten commonly taught topics in American history, including: Native Peoples; The Colonial Period; The American Revolution; The Making of a Country; Slavery and Abolition; The Civil War; The Industrial Revolution; Immigration; and The Civil Rights Movement. Teachers will use maps, biographies of important figures, document and activities booklets, as well as multimedia materials such as contemporary music to develop classroom activities and lessons."
"Participants who complete the seminar in a satisfactory manner will receive a certificate. Teachers may use this certificate to receive in-service credit, subject to the policy of their district. No university credit is offered for the course."
This institute will "explore topics in American music from two distinct yet complementary angles. First, analysis of popular songs as primary source documents offers fresh material to enrich the understanding of social studies and language arts. Second, field trips and authentic performances offer a uniquely engaging evocation of an historical context. Aided by historians, musicologists, and teaching performers, participants strengthen their skills as historians and develop innovative strategies to integrate music into their teaching." Week by week, themes will include "Moving Along," "Work," War and Peace," "United/Divided," and "Home."
"The Pennsylvania Department of Education (Act 48) will provide continuing education credit. Participants from other states may inquire about interstate reciprocity in advance of the Institute and the directors will assist you with that process."
This institute will provide "educators the opportunity to engage in serious study and seminar-style discussion of basic issues of political theory and the values and principles of American constitutional democracy."
This institute will look at Jefferson from as many angles as possible to deepen understanding of his character and personality and thus to shed light on America’s founding and the social and cultural history of the early Republic. The Institute will take a topical approach, looking in depth at such subjects as education, intimate life, family, money, religion, science, and slavery. The seminar will including readings, lectures, discussions, visits to historic sites, and lesson planning.
This seminar will "explore the separation of powers as it applies to the allocation of responsibility between Congress and the president concerning national security and foreign policy powers," "by examining the foundations of the Framers' thought" and "selected executive-congressional debates as they arose during later military conflicts." The seminar will including readings, lectures, discussions, visits to historic sites, and lesson planning.
This seminar will focus on "close study of key scholarly readings and primary documents on the abolitionist movement, examining the evolution of the abolitionist movement from its beginnings during the Revolutionary era in Philadelphia through its radicalization in the years leading to the Civil War." The seminar will include examination of primary teaching resources, visits to historical sites, readings, discussion, journal writing, lesson planning, and lectures.
This seminar will "enhance participants' knowledge of Africa, the Middle Passage, and the people who arrived here in North America in slavery. They will do so by developing projects of their own choosing involving early Atlantic history, literature, or culture up to and including the early nineteenth century." Topics, week by week, will include "Organization: African Understandings," "More African Meanings," "Embarkation, Exile," "Remembering Africa in America," and "Research Results and Teaching Applications."
"Neither the NEH, the VFH, nor the Seminar offers academic credit. The director is willing to supervise credits taken through the University of Virginia Summer Session for participants wishing to take responsibility for whatever financial commitments may be involved (the NEH does not cover such costs, beyond the basic stipend given to all participants), on the basis of additional reading or research during the Seminar. Credits and grades will depend on completing a written project, to be worked out with the director during the first week of the Seminar, within the five weeks here in Charlottesville."
This seminar will "focuses on learning as much as possible about the events of 1989, including the fall of the Berlin Wall and the massacre in Tiananmen Square, and the conflicting interpretations of those events, and on developing learning activities that will make it possible for educators to bring these events to life for their students. In addition to learning a great deal about 1989 and its aftermath, the participants who join us for the seminar will create Primary Source Activities that they can take home, use in their classrooms, share with colleagues and potentially publish on the website 'Making the History of 1989: The Fall of Communism in Eastern Europe.'"
"In recognition of the rigor of this academic endeavor, teachers who complete the required work will qualify for three graduate credits in history at George Mason, which will offer the credit at a reduced rate of $550 per credit hour for in-state and $800 for out-of-state residents. For teachers who would like to receive continuing education units (CEUs) or professional development credit, the program will provide a full syllabus and at the end of the seminar, a general letter explaining the work they have completed that can be taken to district or county administrators in charge of awarding CEUs." Participants will also receive a certificate indicating participation.
"The seminar will explore several key works by the political theorist, Hannah Arendt: 'Eichmann in Jerusalem,' 'The Origins of Totalitarianism,' and 'The Human Condition.' These works shed light on the problem of evil and the use of terror in the contemporary age, and provide a philosophical perspective on current debates about the use of violence to settle political conflicts, about the conditions of democracy, and about the scope and importance of human rights."
"Optional certification of course credit equivalent to three units of graduate course work can be provided in the form of a letter from the program director, pending completion of a 10-15 page research paper." Participants will also receive a certificate indicating participation.