Past Institutes

The New American Republic: From Washington to Madison

On June 10–13, 2019, Humanities Texas partnered with Texas Christian University to hold a professional development institute for Texas teachers covering U.S. history during the Early Republic Era.

Curriculum

The institute curriculum aligned with TEKS standards for the state's middle school U.S. history curriculum. Topics addressed included the presidencies of George Washington, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, and James Madison; the first U.S. Congress; Alexander Hamilton and the American economy; foreign policy and national defense; American women in the early nineteenth century; the Marshall Court; Native Americans in the expanding nation; slavery in the Early Republic; and the War of 1812.

Like all Humanities Texas teacher programs, the institute emphasized close interaction with scholars, the examination of primary sources, and the development of effective pedagogical strategies and engaging assignments and activities.

Faculty

Gordon S. Wood, Alva O. Way University Professor and Professor of History Emeritus at Brown University and the recipient of the 1993 Pulitzer Prize for History, delivered the institute’s keynote lecture. The program faculty also included Juliana Barr (Duke University), Carol Berkin (City University of New York), Daina Ramey Berry (The University of Texas at Austin), John B. Boles (Rice University), Denver Brunsman (George Washington University), Charles Flanagan (National Archives), Lorri Glover (Saint Louis University), Joseph F. Kobylka (Southern Methodist University), and Gene Allen Smith and Kenneth Stevens of Texas Christian University.

Location and Schedule

The institute took place on the campus of Texas Christian University from June 10–13, 2019. The schedule is available here.

Sponsors

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