The story of America is a story of immigration. From the first colonial settlers through the wave of 19th-century immigrants to the 20th-century refugees from war and famine to those still coming today, the desire to build a better life has motivated millions to U.S. shores. What does it mean to be an immigrant? What forces compel you to embark on an uncertain journey? What is life like in a new and strange country? To complement students' study of historic periods of immigration, this program invites students to hear the stories of 19th-century immigrants to St. Louis.

In this program, educators and their students will have the opportunity to learn about the wide variety of European immigrants that came to St Louis in the mid- and later part of the 19th century. Students will interact with archivists and historians as they share stories of immigrants and what their life was like as they crossed the ocean and settled in this new land. They will learn about Mullanphy Emigrant Home in St. Louis which, according to Sean Thomas, Executive Director of the Old North St. Louis Restoration Group, functioned as a "lighthouse, a safe haven for immigrants getting their start" in St. Louis. Participants will find out about the services available at the Mullanphy House and how immigrants contributed to the vibrant growth of St. Louis in the 19th century.

Participants in this workshop will learn about the 1890s immigration experience on the Near West Side of Chicago through compelling historical fiction narratives and visits to Hull-House and the Taylor Street and Prairie Avenue neighborhoods. Based on the Museum's collection, these stories form the core of the Great Chicago Stories website, an award-winning educational resource.

Participants in this workshop will learn about the 1890s immigration experience on the Near West Side of Chicago through compelling historical fiction narratives. Based on the Museum's collection, these stories form the core of the Great Chicago Stories website, an award-winning educational resource.

From 1919 to 1929, Langston Hughes noted, "Harlem was in vogue." Black painters and sculptors joined writers and musicians in an artistic outpouring that established Harlem as the international capital of African American culture. Participants will study the evolution of the Harlem Renaissance through the music of Duke Ellington and Ethel Waters, the art of painter Archibald Motley and sculptor Augusta Savage, and the literary works of Hughes, Zora Neale Hurston, and Jean Toomer, among others.

ChicagoAncestors.org is a free website where visitors can find and share historical information about Chicago. Are you researching the history of a neighborhood? Looking for the church where your great-grandparents got married? Interested in mapping the places where your ancestors lived? This workshop can help. Participants will learn how to use the tools available on this popular interactive website and find out how they can contribute to the growing amount of historical data available online to Chicago researchers.

Much has been written about the history of Chicago and the land of the living. This course will provide material about Chicago's Necropoli, the land of the dead. Through lecture and slide presentations, participants will discuss the role of cemeteries in early Chicago history, ethnic cemeteries, and mourning practices. The final session will take place at the home of the instructor for an overview of the paraphernalia of funeral homes and cemeteries.

Constructed around an online "toolbox" of texts and documents collected at the National Humanities Center in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, participants in this seminar will discuss four themes that are central to the Gilded Age: City and Country, focusing on Arcadian mythology, urban realism, and nostalgia; Citizens and Others, especially immigrants, African Americans, and children; Work and Leisure, especially craft, industrialization, and consumerism; and Politics and the State, including party culture, populism, and progressivism. Within each thematic unit, participants will be searching for characteristic sensibilities of the age, as manifest in public life, literature, and/or the arts. Across the discussions, they will try to identify those documents, questions, and exercises that might best enliven their own classrooms.