Past Institutes

The U.S. in the 1940s

In January 2014, Humanities Texas held two one-day workshops in Beaumont and Houston focusing on U.S. history during and immediately following World War II.

Curriculum

Topics addressed included the turning points of World War II, the burgeoning civil rights movement, and industrialization and the home front.

Ninety-three teachers attended the workshops. The workshops emphasized 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 secondary social studies TEKS, with particular emphasis on the eleventh-grade curriculum. Teachers received books and other instructional materials and were trained in the examination and interpretation of primary sources.

Faculty

Workshop faculty included Maury Klein (University of Rhode Island), Arnold Krammer (Texas A&M University), Joseph Pratt (University of Houston), and Michael L. Gillette (Humanities Texas).

Program Resources

Our February 2014 newsletter included a slideshow of images from the workshop. Our March 2015 newsletter also included firsthand accounts of American prisoners of war captured during World War II, as well as an excerpt of Dr. Arnold Krammer's "When the Afrika Korps Came to Texas," an essay about prisoners of war held in Texas during World War II.

Locations and schedules

The workshop overviews detail each program's schedule and participants.

Sponsors

These workshops were made possible with major funding from the State of Texas, with ongoing support from the National Endowment for the Humanities. Humanities Texas thanks ESC5 and the MFAH for hosting the programs.