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 California History-Social Science Project website:

"A new interactive online exhibit from the California Council for the Humanities (CCH) – We Are California – will explore the history and stories of those who have immigrated or migrated to California. A new partnership between the Council and the California History-Social Science Project (CHSSP) will help to bring this exciting resource to the classroom.

The topics of the workshops will be 'The Sikhs of Yuba City' and 'Sam Brannan and the Mormon Settlements of California.' Both presentations will include classroom ready materials aligned with the California History-Social Science Standards."

This PhilaPlace project workshop will suggest approaches for developing local history mapping lessons and discuss ways to incorporate immigration and oral history into such projects.

This PhilaPlace project workshop will introduce teachers to Geographic Information Systems (GIS) mapping and show how it can be a valuable tool to assess immigration and ethnic change over time.

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.

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. Based on the Museum's collection, these stories form the core of the Great Chicago Stories website, an award-winning educational resource.

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.

The United States is often described as a "melting pot" of ethnic groups or as a "nation of immigrants." Though most of us could easily find references to this melting pot in popular culture today, few realize that the concept has a long and contested history. In this two-day seminar, participants will explore primary sources from the past two centuries that describe the nation as a melting pot or as a "crucible" where the fusion of different national cultures will occur. Through close readings, they will consider how the meaning of the melting pot has changed over time and how it has informed debates about what it means to be an American. Even as they take a long view of the melting pot in American history, they will pay particular attention to the early 20th century and to debates about restricting the flow of immigrants to the United States.

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.