Past Institutes

Shaping the American Republic to 1877

In June 2012, Humanities Texas held institutes on The University of Texas campuses in Brownsville and San Antonio examining significant events and themes in U.S. history from the colonial era through Reconstruction. Eighty-seven teachers participated in the three-day institutes.

Curriculum

The curriculum tracked to the state standards for eighth-grade U.S. history. Topics addressed included Native Americans and Western Expansion, How Americans Invented Their Constitution and The Making of the U.S. Constitution. 

As in past years, institutes emphasized close interaction with scholars, the examination of primary sources, and the development of effective pedagogical strategies and engaging assignments and activities. The programs were designed ultimately to enhance teachers' mastery of the subjects they teach and to improve students' performance on state assessments.

Faculty

The Brownsville institute faculty included Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Jack N. Rakove (Stanford University), Daniel Feller (University of Tennessee), Charles Flanagan (National Archives), Kenneth Stevens (Texas Christian University), Carey Latimore (Trinity University), and Stacy Fuller (Amon Carter Museum), as well as UT Brownsville scholars Manuel F. Medrano, Thomas Britten, Hariett Denise Joseph, Anthony Knopp, James Mills, Philip Samponaro, Amanda Taylor-Montoya, and Michael Van Wagenen.

The San Antonio institute faculty included Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Gordon S. Wood (Brown University), Daniel Feller (University of Tennessee), Charles Flanagan (National Archives), Jennifer L. Weber (University of Kansas), Daina Ramey Berry (UT Austin), Michael Les Benedict (The Ohio State University), Francis X. Galán (Our Lady of the Lake University), and Stacy Fuller (Amon Carter Museum), as well as UTSA scholars Steven R. Boyd, Kirsten Gardner, Kenneth Weiher, and Patrick J. Kelly.

Program Resources

Our July/August 2012 newsletter included a slideshow of images from the Brownsville and San Antonio institutes.

View videos of faculty lectures from the institutes:

• Daina Ramey Berry, "Slavery"
• Thomas Britten, "Native Americans and Western Expansion"
• Daniel Feller, "Jacksonian Democracy"
• Stacy Fuller, "Teaching U.S. History through Art"
• Kirsten Gardner, "Women and Suffrage"
• Jack N. Rakove, "The Bill of Rights"
• Jack N. Rakove, "How Americans Invented Their Constitution"
• Kenneth Weiher, "Topics in Economic Growth and Development"
• Gordon S. Wood, "The Making of the U.S. Constitution"
• Gordon S. Wood, "Empire of Liberty"

Locations and Schedules

The schedules detail each institute’s events. The four-day institutes took place at The University of Texas at Brownsville and The University of Texas at San Antonio. More information can be found in the institute’s final report. 

Sponsors and Partners

Sponsors included The University of Texas at Brownsville and The University of Texas at San Antonio. Program partners included the Center for Legislative Archives at the National Archives, the Amon Carter Museum of American Art, and the Institute for Texan Cultures.

These institutes were made possible with major funding from the State of Texas and ongoing support from the National Endowment for the Humanities.