This weeklong seminar will bring together a distinguished team of humanities scholars who will provide an interdisciplinary exploration of Zora Neale Hurston's life and work. Participants will examine Hurston's accomplishments within the context of the historical and cultural development of the Eatonville community. They will grapple with compelling questions about how this unique black enclave fueled Hurston's appreciation of folk culture, inspired her literary works, created her racial identity, and formed her sometimes controversial views on race.

From the North Carolina Museum of History website:

"Explore the history of civil rights in the state from 1830 to the present. An interactive time line, a Web quest, and tips on teaching with primary sources enhance the in-depth text and historic images."

The American South plays a central role in American history, from the first permanent English colony through the election of 2008. This course will focus on key episodes when Southern history and the history of the nation intersected at particularly important points: the emergence and spread of slavery, the founding, the Civil War, the creation of segregation, and the civil rights struggle. The course will be taught in Richmond, Virginia, a city rich in museums and historic sites that the seminar will use to explore the subjects addressed in the seminar.

This seminar will focus on the factors that both pushed and pulled African Americans from the South after the Civil War. It will analyze the images of the North that prevailed among Southern blacks, the forces that shaped those images, and the prominent themes that the Great Migration brought to African American literature. How were the realities African Americans encountered in "the Promised Land" of the North comparable to experiences they had undergone in the South? What roles did individuals, agencies, family, and business play in the movement north? And how does an examination of westward migration and migration from rural to urban areas within the South broaden understandings of the Great Migration?

Led by distinguished scholars, each 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 a National Museum of the American Indian email:

"Four hundred years ago, in 1609, Henry Hudson made his first voyage on the river that came to bear his name. To mark this historic event, Pace University commissioned Joseph Bruchac, a writer and educator of Abenaki descent, to create a play based on crew member Robert Juet's journal of the famous expedition. The play tells of the coming together of the European and Indian culture, in all of its complexities, and of the Indians' efforts to preserve and protect the river and their way of life.

Educators are invited to see a special presentation of the original play by noted author Joseph Bruchac (Abenaki) entitled The River of Tides. There will be a Q & A with Mr. Bruchac following the performance. Educators who pre-register will receive a companion curriculum."

For more on the National Museum of the American Indian, refer to NHEC's Museums and Historic Sites entry. Please note that this event takes place at the museum's New York City location.