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This fall, Humanities Texas will hold professional development workshops throughout the state for Texas social studies and language arts teachers.

The American Revolution

Humanities Texas will hold one-day workshops in Austin (October 2) and San Antonio (October 3) on the American Revolution. Topics to be addressed include the colonies' growing separation from Britain, the Declaration of Independence, turning points of the Revolutionary War, and women and the Revolution. Workshop faculty includes Zara Anishanslin (University of Delaware), Denver Brunsman (George Washington University), Woody Holton (University of South Carolina), and Bill Meier (Texas Christian University).

The Harlem Renaissance

Humanities Texas will hold one-day teacher workshops in Austin (October 9) and Dallas (October 10) focusing on the literature and history of the Harlem Renaissance. Faculty presentations will provide a historical introduction to the Harlem Renaissance and focused consideration of the writings of Langston Hughes and Zora Neale Hurston, among others. Faculty will also help participants develop ideas for effective writing and research assignments related to the Harlem Renaissance. Workshop faculty includes Philip Barrish (The University of Texas at Austin), Adriane Bezusko (Texas Christian University), Sequoia Maner (Southwestern University), Samantha Pinto (The University of Texas at Austin), and Jennifer M. Wilks (The University of Texas at Austin).

Nineteenth-Century Texas

On October 22, 2019, Humanities Texas will hold a one-day workshop in Midland on nineteenth-century Texas history. Topics to be addressed include the Texas Revolution, Texas from the Republic to the Confederacy, Texas in the Civil War, and Reconstruction in Texas. Workshop faculty includes Alwyn Barr (Texas Tech University), Caroline Castillo Crimm (Sam Houston State University), Andrew Torget (University of North Texas), and Susannah J. Ural (The University of Southern Mississippi).

Teaching To Kill a Mockingbird

On October 29, 2019, Humanities Texas will hold a one-day teacher workshop in Houston focusing on teaching Harper Lee's classic novel To Kill a Mockingbird as well as other writings from the civil rights movement. Topics to be addressed include Harper Lee's inspirations for, and composition of, To Kill a Mockingbird; important contexts for understanding the novel; contemporaneous writings from the civil rights movement; and effective strategies for teaching the novel at the secondary level. Workshop faculty includes Shirlene Bridgewater, Thomas DiPiero (Southern Methodist University), Adam Goudsouzian (University of Memphis), and Coleman Hutchison (The University of Texas at Austin).

Teaching the U.S. Constitution

Humanities Texas will hold one-day workshops on teaching the U.S. Constitution in Fort Worth (October 29) and Dallas (October 30). Topics to be addressed include the Articles of Confederation, compromises made in adopting the Constitution, the Federalist and Anti-Federalist debates on the Constitution's ratification, and the Bill of Rights. Workshop faculty includes Denver Brunsman (George Washington University), Charles Flanagan (National Archives), Woody Holton (University of South Carolina), and Joseph F. Kobylka (Southern Methodist University).

America in the 1960s

On November 6, 2019, Humanities Texas will hold a one-day workshop in Houston on America in the 1960s. Topics to be addressed include an overview of America in 1960, LBJ and the Great Society, the civil rights movement, the Cold War and Vietnam, and popular culture of the 1960s. Workshop faculty includes David M. Oshinsky (New York University), Michael L. Gillette, Tikia Hamilton, Jason Mellard (Texas State University), and Jeremi Suri (The University of Texas at Austin).

Teachers at all workshops will receive books and other instructional materials and be trained in the examination and interpretation of primary sources. Content at all of our fall workshops will be aligned with the TEKS. For details on eligibility, substitute and travel reimbursements, and venues or to apply online, visit the Upcoming Institutes page on the Humanities Texas website.

Washington Crossing the Delaware by Emanuel Leutze, 1851. Gift of John Stewart Kennedy, 1897. The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Jennifer Wilks (The University of Texas at Austin) leads an afternoon seminar on the Harlem Renaissance.
The first edition cover of To Kill a Mockingbird from 1960.
Senator John F. Kennedy and Vice President Richard M. Nixon answer questions on the podium during the second in a series of debates between the two men. Frank McGee (center) of NBC News was moderator for this session. Washington, DC, October 7, 1960. United States Information Agency, UPI/WAP-100713.