The Civil War destroyed the institution of slavery and transformed the U.S. socially, politically, and economically, all at great cost to human life: more Americans died in this war than in any other in the nation's history. The War's impact on art was almost as profound and long-lasting. Not only did the subject inspire some of the nation's best painters, sculptors, photographers, and illustrators, it also changed the face of town and countryside as monuments to soldiers and statesmen of the Civil War era spread across the landscape. This seminar will examine the far-reaching impact of the war on American art, both during the conflict and afterward, as it moved from current event into the realm of memory. The seminar will pay close attention not only to the imagery of battle but also to the social and political issues which shaped the image of the war and which in many respects continue to shape the U.S. today.

The seminar will consist of three sessions. The first two, featuring lecture and discussion, will focus on the close analysis of images and primary documents. The third will concentrate on the integration of seminar ideas and material into lesson plans using the Center's Seminar-to-Classroom Guide.

From the National Humanities Center website:

"One of the most familiar truisms about the United States is that we are a 'nation of immigrants.' Indeed, immigration and immigrants inform nearly every narrative of progress and possibility that Americans have told about themselves for more than a century, from individual stories of rags to riches to generational accounts of upward mobility and becoming American. And yet, immigration today remains one of the most controversial political topics, generating intense conflicts over who or what is an American and who should have the rights and responsibilities of citizenship. In this seminar, we examine and compare two waves of immigration to the United States: the 'new' immigration between 1890 and 1920, composed mainly of immigrants from southern and eastern Europe and Japan; and contemporary immigration, post 1964, involving undocumented and legal migration from Southeast Asia, Mexico, Central America, and Africa. By exploring changes and continuities in immigration to the United States, we seek to historicize contemporary controversies and fears."

From the National Humanities Center website:

"In the three decades after the American Revolution, the identity of the new nation remained far from settled. American writers and politicians asserted that the United States differed from Europe, but they disagreed about how. Did the American people possess a new 'national character,' based on shared experience or a new environment? What policies and practices would best ensure the survival of the republican experiment? And how would a nation founded on the principle that 'all men are created equal' address the contradictions of its own inequalities? With selected primary sources from the new republic—in words and pictures—the seminar will explore these questions."

Professors Gabor Boritt and Matthew Pinsker examine the War President Abraham Lincoln and the transformation of the United States during and after the Civil War. The seminar focuses on the central role of Gettysburg. Lecture topics include battlefields and soldiers; slavery and race; and Lincoln's transition to a resolute war leader.