The purpose of this one-week summer seminar is to explore a pivotal period in American history. After the uneven prosperity of the 1920s, the Great Depression of the 1930s was a human catastrophe. But the economic crisis also led to dramatic social and cultural change as Americans reacted to hardship and adversity. Above all, the rise of the New Deal under Franklin Roosevelt reshaped the modern state in ways that remain controversial and at the historical core of political debates today.

The Gilder Lehrman Summer Seminars are designed to strengthen participants' commitment to high quality history teaching. Public, parochial, independent school teachers, and National Park Service rangers are eligible. These week-long seminars provide intellectual stimulation and a collaborative context for developing practical resources and strategies to take back to the classroom.

Across the country, an increasing number of teachers have discovered an exciting and innovative way to promote a love of history. Easy-to-use software (such as Microsoft's PhotoStory and Movie Maker, and Apple's iMovie) and extensive copyright-free online images (like those found on the Library of Congress's American Memory site) make it possible for students to create high-quality, Ken Burns-like videos combining narration, text, graphics, and historical images and music. Professor Mintz, a pioneer in the application of new technologies to history teaching and research, will lead teachers through the process of creating digital documentaries with their students.