The Smithsonian is honoring Abraham Lincoln's bicentennial with special exhibitions and programs, and educators will be able to participate in the national celebration through the first Smithsonian Online Education Conference: Abraham Lincoln. Participants will explore Smithsonian research and collections related to Lincoln's life—everything from portraits and diaries to documents and historical artifacts. Alongside Smithsonian curators, participants will look at Lincoln's life and legacy from the perspectives of history, science, and art.
This workshop explores the questions "In 1690, to what extent were the arts and material culture of the British Atlantic colonies 'American?,' "To what extent were they 'American' by 1789?," "What major factors defined the evolution in American arts and material culture in this period?," and "To what extent did this evolution reflect the changing self-image of Americans?"
This workshop will examine the questions "What constituted progress during the Progressive era?," "How did Americans define the 'old' and 'new,' 'backward' and 'progressive' during this period?," and "How did economic and industrial ideas and methods influence other areas of American life during the Progressive era?"
The Center's online resource workshops give high school teachers of U.S. history and American literature a deeper understanding of their subject matter. They introduce teachers to fresh texts and critical perspectives and help teachers integrate them into their lessons. Led by distinguished scholars and running 60 to 90 minutes, they are conducted through lecture and discussion using conferencing software. A resource workshop identifies central themes within a topic and explores ways to teach them through the close analysis of primary texts, including works of art, and the use of discussion questions. Texts are drawn from anthologies in the Center's Toolbox Library. To participate, all that is needed is a computer with an internet connection, a speaker, and a microphone.
This workshop addresses the questions "In what ways is Jacob Riis's How the Other Half Lives a document of progressive reform?," "What does How the Other Half Lives tell us about urbanization and immigration?," and "How does Riis use photography in How the Other Half Lives?"
The Center's online resource workshops give high school teachers of U.S. history and American literature a deeper understanding of their subject matter. They introduce teachers to fresh texts and critical perspectives and help teachers integrate them into their lessons. Led by distinguished scholars and running 60 to 90 minutes, they are conducted through lecture and discussion using conferencing software. A resource workshop identifies central themes within a topic and explores ways to teach them through the close analysis of primary texts, including works of art, and the use of discussion questions. Texts are drawn from anthologies in the Center's Toolbox Library. To participate, all that is needed is a computer with an internet connection, a speaker, and a microphone.
Using ESSEX History is pleased to welcome back Dr. Cynthia Lyerly (Boston College) to lead a discussion of the culture of Jim Crow. This seminar will provide nuance for discussions of segregation by taking educators out of the courtrooms and voting booths to examine how the Jim Crow system affected everyday life and how depictions of race in popular culture complemented and supported both legal and de facto segregation. Readings for this seminar will focus on the turn of the 20th century and will bring together a diverse amount of scholarship including: Dr. Lyerly's own work on The Clansman author Thomas Dixon, Jr.'s studies on the segregation of consumption and public spaces, and investigations into popular cultural icons such as Shirley Temple and Scarlett O'Hara. This seminar will take place at the NARA facilities in Waltham and will include screenings of portions of several films including Gone With the Wind, The Littlest Rebel, and Within Our Gates, as well as investigations into NARA's archives.The primary sources for the day reveal surprising ways in which the culture of segregation affected life here in New England.
By attending an entire seminar and preparing a quality lesson plan based on the materials and information discussed during the day, participating teachers will earn 10 PDPs and a stipend of $125.
The Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission and Howard University in Washington will co-produce a conference on Emancipation and Race in the Age of Lincoln. The conference will focus on the international dimension of emancipation and will compare different nations' approaches to the issue of emancipation. The conference coincides with the District of Columbia's Emancipation Day and will feature public evening events.
This iCue Mini-Documentary introduces King James II's actions to gain more control over America by combining the northeast colonies into the Dominion of New England and imposing the Anglican Church on the Americans. The king appointed Edmund Andros as governor, which stirred the contempt of the colonists.