Past Institutes

American Writing on the Civil War

On February 1, 2013, Humanities Texas held a one-day workshop in Austin for fifty secondary language arts and social studies teachers on seminal works of nineteenth- and twentieth-century American writing on the Civil War.

Curriculum

Emphasis was placed on the multiple perspectives that Americans had, and continue to have, on the Civil War, as well as  on the rhetorical strategies and devices that authors have used to communicate effectively. Featured authors included Frederick Douglass, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Walt Whitman, Abraham Lincoln, Henry David Thoreau, Stephen Crane, Robert Lowell, Flannery O’Connor, and Natasha Trethewey.

The workshop featured close interaction with scholars, the examination of primary sources, and the development of effective pedagogical strategies and engaging assignments and activities. 

Content was aligned with the TEKS, and teachers received books and other instructional materials.

Faculty

The workshop faculty included Randall Fuller (the University of Tulsa) and Daina Ramey Berry, Evan Carton, and Coleman Hutchison, all of The University of Texas at Austin.

Program Resources

Our February 2013 newsletter included a slideshow of images from the workshop and a transcript of Daina Ramey Berry’s lecture on the life and achievements of Frederick Douglass.

View videos of faculty lectures from the 2012 workshop:

• Daina Ramey Berry, "The Life and Achievements of Frederick Douglass"
• Evan Carton, "Nature, God, and Mankind's Opinions: Abraham Lincoln, John Brown, and Henry David Thoreau with Respect to the Law"
• Randall Fuller, "How the Civil War Transformed American Literature"
• Coleman Hutchison, "Bringing the Ditch Nearer: Reading and Teaching the Twentieth-Century Literature of the Civil War"

Location

The workshop overview details the program schedule and participants.  

Sponsors

The workshop was made possible with major funding from the state of Texas, with ongoing support from the National Endowment for the Humanities.