Past Institutes

Understanding the Federal Government

In February 2020, Humanities Texas held two one-day workshops in Austin and Houston focused on teaching students about the federal government.

Curriculum

Faculty lectures addressed Congress, the presidency, the federal judiciary, and using the resources of the National Archives to teach students about the federal government. Content was aligned with the secondary social studies TEKS, with particular emphasis on the standards for U.S. government. The workshops featured close interaction with scholars, the examination of primary sources, and the development of effective pedagogical strategies and engaging assignments and activities. Teachers received books and other instructional materials.

Faculty

Workshop faculty included Charles Flanagan (National Archives), Joseph Kobylka (Southern Methodist University), and Jeremi Suri and Sean Theriault of The University of Texas at Austin.

Locations and Schedules

Download the schedule for each workshop. 

Sponsors

The workshops were made possible with major funding from the State of Texas with ongoing support from the National Endowment for the Humanities.