Landmarks of American History and Culture: Workshops for School Teachers

The following examples are hypothetical and are offered for illustrative purposes only.

Independence Hall and the Birth of the United States

A research library, in conjunction with a Philadelphia-area college, conducts three week-long residential summer workshops on events that took place at Independence Hall and were central to America's founding. Events to be examined include the Continental Congress's declaration of independence in 1776 and the Philadelphia Convention's drafting of the Constitution in 1787. Guided by humanities scholars, forty schoolteachers study the architecture of Independence Hall, its use by official and unofficial bodies, and the debates that led to the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. Ancillary texts include the records of the Continental and Confederation Congresses, Thomas Jefferson's drafts of the Declaration of Independence, James Madison's notes on the debates of the Philadelphia Convention, and materials about the Constitution's ratification such as The Federalist. Workshop scholars include an architectural historian, a political scientist, an expert on the history of the American Revolution, and staff members of scholarly editions of significant papers collections. The teachers attend lecture-discussion sessions with scholars in the mornings and work on document-based teaching units and evaluation plans with master teachers in the afternoon. Accommodations for the teachers are provided by a local university.

Faulkner's Counties: Yoknapatawpha and Lafayette

A university literature department, in collaboration with a local historical society, conducts two week-long residential summer workshops on William Faulkner's fictional Yoknapatawpha County and its relationship to Lafayette, the actual Mississippi county that provided the background for his writings. Guided by a literature professor who specializes in Faulkner and a historian of the American south who has written about the relationship between history and fiction, the participants read and discuss writings by Faulkner, including The Sound and the Fury, Absalom, Absalom!, Go Down, Moses, and The Hamlet, as well as selected criticism. Participants also visit sites in Lafayette County that Faulkner used in his fictional depiction of Yoknapatawpha, among them Faulkner's home, Rowan Oak, the Thompson mansion, the Courthouse, Frenchman's Bend, and Faulkner's farm. Participants take part in lecture-discussion sessions in the morning. In the afternoons they visit sites and research collections of the university library and historical society.

Angel Island: Immigration Gateway in the West

A local history society hosts two week-long workshops on the history of Asian immigration in America, focusing on immigrants who entered through Angel Island, the Ellis Island of the West. Participants are introduced to sources for studying the history and culture of Chinese-Americans, including the Chinese Cultural Center and the Chinese Historical Society of America. Mornings consist of lectures about the experiences of the first generation of Asians who came to America as temporary laborers. Other immigrant groups are studied, such as those from Southeast Asia. Topics to be explored include the role of Asian immigrants in the economic expansion of the West; the Chinese Exclusion Acts of 1882, 1892, and 1904; and the acculturation of Asian American communities. Readings include autobiographical accounts, immigration legislation, and newspaper accounts of Asian immigration from different eras. Participants spend afternoons exploring sites such as the National Japanese American Historical Society and local art museums and galleries. A portfolio of resources is prepared in advance for participants. Each participant is expected to augment this portfolio in the course of the week and prepare a draft for a particular unit.

Frank Lloyd Wright: Architect for Modern America

A community college works with several associations to conduct three week-long residential summer workshops on Frank Lloyd Wright (an artist featured in NEH's initiative, Picturing America), the development of Prairie Style architecture, and the historical context of his contributions. Participants visit private and public buildings designed by Wright in the area, including his studio and Oak Park houses. A field trip to Racine, Wisconsin, gives participants the opportunity to study the Johnson Wax Building and the Wingspread Conference Center, two of Wright's major architectural designs. Participants read selections from Wright's writings and speeches that illuminate his approach to private and public buildings. Wright's interest in individualizing modestly priced private homes and his commitment to allow function to shape form serve as the workshop's focal points. Visiting scholars discuss Wright in the wider context of American architecture; explore the role of Louis Sullivan, Wright's Chicago mentor; and analyze the Chicago buildings designed by Wright in light of his other major projects, among them the Tokyo Imperial Hotel, Falling Water, and the Guggenheim Museum. Participants meet each afternoon for small group discussion of lectures, readings, and site visits and explore ways they may incorporate the visual and textual elements of Wright's works into their curricula.

Southwestern Missions: Crucible of Nations and Cultures

A university in the Southwest, in partnership with a local historical society, offers two week-long summer workshops focusing on missions of the Southwest including Antonio de Valero (now known as the Alamo), San José, Concepción, San Juan, and Espada. The five-day workshop includes lectures, site visits, and curriculum development sessions led by a faculty resident scholar and four visiting humanities scholars whose fields include colonial and architectural histories, colonial Hispanic culture, and curriculum and instruction. Each morning the forty participants spend lecture-discussion sessions on topics such as the conversion to Christianity, Spanish assimilation and acculturation of native populations, and the effects of annexation and statehood on missions. Afternoon sessions consist of site visits and additional curriculum development instruction. Interpretive works such as From Indians to Chicanos: The Dynamics of Mexican-American Culture by James Diego Vigil, along with archaeological field reports and edited volumes of primary materials, including The Papers of the Texas Revolution; The Writings of Sam Houston, 1813-1863; and José Enrique de la Peña's With Santa Anna in Texas: A Personal Narrative of the Revolution, serve as points of departure for critical inquiry. Participants reside in campus housing located in proximity to one of the sites. The workshop concludes with the dissemination of curriculum materials developed by participants and scholars.

The Wyeths: Visions of America

A liberal arts college with an American Studies program, in partnership with a consortium of cultural organizations, offers two week-long workshops on the Wyeth family, an American painting dynasty. Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania, where N.C. Wyeth (an artist featured in NEH's initiative, Picturing America) moved in 1911, is at the center of these explorations, giving participants access to the places in which three generations of Wyeths lived and worked. The workshop focuses on the collections of paintings and illustrations of N.C. Wyeth at the Brandywine River Museum. The workshop gives participants an opportunity to integrate formal issues in art within a social and historical context. Participants visit local sites such as the Keurner Farm, which served as Andrew Wyeth's inspiration for more than 70 years. Readings and presentations by visiting scholars are aimed at placing the Wyeths' work in its historical context and exploring it in relation to American realism. Specialists guide lecture-discussion sessions in the mornings. Participants go on field trips in the afternoon, study the collections at the Brandywine River Museum, or engage in small group work.