"An NCHE team of Matt Pinsker, Al Jacobs, and Gerry Kohler will explore the topic of The Antebellum Years: Political, Social, and Economic Distinctions between North and South at this colloquium."
This seminar, led by Kathryn Morse of Middlebury College, will explore westward expansion in the U.S. during the nineteenth century, offering "in-depth exploration of historic personalities, themes, and events and intensive work with primary source materials."
"Franklin's 'Autobiography' and Jefferson's 'Notes on the State of Virginia' are exemplary expressions of the principles that inform the American way of life. The course aims to recover what such a claim means by paying careful attention to what the books say about nature, human desires, reason, education, religion, government, farming, commerce, and several other things. As time permits, we will consider related writings of Franklin and Jefferson."
"Teachers may choose to receive two hours of Master's degree credit from Ashland University. This credit can be used toward the new Master of American History and Government offered by Ashland University or may be transfered to another institution. The two credits will cost $440."
"In the last decades of the 19th Century, the United States took decisive steps away from its rural, agrarian past toward its industrial future, assuming its place among world powers. This course examines that movement, covering such topics as business-labor relations, political corruption, immigration, imperialism, the New South, and segregation and racism."
"Teachers may choose to receive two hours of Master's degree credit from Ashland University. This credit can be used toward the new Master of American History and Government offered by Ashland University or may be transfered to another institution. The two credits will cost $440."
Professor Diane Mutti-Burke "explores the diversity found within Southern plantations by illuminating how region and the size of slaveholding altered slavery. This lecture is part of the Gilder Lehrman Center Brown Bag Lunch Series."
"Led by Patty Limerick, this seminar uses focused case studies to explore the larger picture of environmental history, a subject that has grown increasingly complex as historians deepen their understanding of the vast role of 'anthropogenic change' (also known as 'history!') in reconfiguring the places and processes we think of as 'natural.' Much of the seminar explores the transformation of attitudes, from the assessment of North American landscapes and resources by early settlers to the recognition of the changing "baseline" of global warming, along with a reconsideration—and revision—of the usual polarity pitting utilitarian approaches in opposition to preservationist approaches to the management of nature. With guest speakers drawn from the University of Colorado’s widely respected environmental studies program, the roles of naturalists and scientists in shaping American thinking about nature will receive particular attention, as will changes in the production and consumption of energy, a fundamental matter in environmental history. The concluding field trip to Rocky Mountain National Park gives the themes of the lectures and discussions a down-to-earth grounding in a visit to one of the most popular units in the nation’s public lands, while close attention to John McPhee’s 'Encounters with the Archdruid' provides a framework for drawing lessons from the past to enhance the quality of contemporary environmental decision-making."
"Participants who complete the seminar in a satisfactory manner will receive a certificate. Teachers may use this certificate to receive in-service credit, subject to the policy of their district. No university credit is offered for the course."
"To many, the Great Plains are part of the Great Flyover, whose landscape and history alike are flat and featureless. But in this region in the middle of the nation, cultures have mingled and clashed for thousands of years. This seminar will focus on the 19th century, though also examining the first peoples and the continuing cultural exchanges of the 20th century. It will begin with the physical setting, plants, and animals, and consider early humans in both Native American traditions and anthropological/archeological studies. Europeans arriving in the 16th century accelerated the long history of change and evolution, initiating more than three centuries of converging peoples and cultures, new centers of power, flourishing trade, calamitous epidemics, and cultural and material intrusions from across the planet. Participants will visit Bent’s Fort to see a cultural crossroads illustrated through one family. The seminar will also examine cattle ranching, homesteading, scientific explorations, and the depiction of the plains in art."
"Participants who complete the seminar in a satisfactory manner will receive a certificate. Teachers may use this certificate to receive in-service credit, subject to the policy of their district. No university credit is offered for the course."
"The seminar will explore the lived experience of ordinary Americans during the colonial period of history. Topics will include: family and household, community organization, making a living, religious belief and practice, witchcraft and magic, and shared patterns of human psychology. Material culture will also receive considerable emphasis: domestic architecture, furnishings, the natural environment. Mornings will be devoted to lectures and discussion; afternoons to field trips and library work."
"Participants who complete the seminar in a satisfactory manner will receive a certificate. Teachers may use this certificate to receive in-service credit, subject to the policy of their district. No university credit is offered for the course."
This seminar will be "organized around ten commonly taught topics in American history, including: Native Peoples; The Colonial Period; The American Revolution; The Making of a Country; Slavery and Abolition; The Civil War; The Industrial Revolution; Immigration; and The Civil Rights Movement. Teachers will use maps, biographies of important figures, document and activities booklets, as well as multimedia materials such as contemporary music to develop classroom activities and lessons."
"Participants who complete the seminar in a satisfactory manner will receive a certificate. Teachers may use this certificate to receive in-service credit, subject to the policy of their district. No university credit is offered for the course."
This seminar will examine the creation of identity and a sense of place by inhabitants and visitors to the Great Plains throughout the history of the U.S. Discussions and lectures will focus on four books: author and historian Walter P. Webb's 1931 "The Great Plains"; author Willa Cather's 1918 "My Antonia"; author N. Scott Momaday's 1969 "The Way to Rainy Mountain"; and author, historian, and environmentalist Wallace Stegner's 1955 autobiography "Wolf Willow: A History, a Story, and a Memory of the Last Plains Frontier."
"Those seminarians desiring to earn graduate credit or continuing education units will be enabled to do so – arrangements in progress." Participants will also receive a certificate indicating participation.