Past Institutes

America in the 1960s

In June 2014, Humanities Texas held institutes in Austin and Houston examining significant events and themes in American history in the 1960s.

Curriculum

The Austin and Houston institutes covered topics central to the state’s eleventh-grade social studies curriculum. Faculty lectures and workshops addressed the 1960 presidential election; the Cold War; the Space Race; influential women of the period; the civil rights movement; the Vietnam War; the protest movements of the 1960s; and the influence of the decade's music and writing.

102 teachers attended the institutes. As in past years, the 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. Content was aligned with the secondary social studies TEKS. Teachers received books and other instructional materials.

Faculty

The Austin institute keynote lecture was delivered by Pulitzer Prize-winning historian David M. Oshinsky, distinguished scholar in residence at New York University. The faculty also featured lectures and workshops led by H.W. Brands, Mark A. Lawrence, Janet Davis, Jeremi Suri, and Karl Miller, all of The University of Texas at Austin. Other faculty members included Albert S. Broussard (Texas A&M University), Mark Updegrove (LBJ Library), Betty Sue Flowers, Heather Cox Richardson (Boston College), and Terry Anderson (Texas A&M University).

The Houston institute keynote lecture was delivered by James T. Patterson, Ford Foundation Professor of History emeritus at Brown University. The faculty also featured lectures and workshops led by Mark A. Lawrence (UT Austin), Linda Reed (UH), Matt Tribbe (University of Connecticut), Nancy Beck Young (UH), Randall Woods (University of Arkansas), Mary Brennan (Texas State University), Allen Matusow (Rice University), Jeremi Suri (UT Austin/LBJ School of Public Affairs), Terry Anderson (Texas A&M University), and Alexis McCrossen (Southern Methodist University).

Educational specialists from the Lyndon Baines Johnson Library and Museum also served on the institutes’ faculty, providing participants with facsimiles of historic documents that support the teaching of U.S. history.

Program resources

Our October 2014 newsletter included excerpts from faculty lectures.

Locations and schedules

Sponsors

Program co-sponsors included The University of Texas at Austin College of Liberal Arts, the LBJ Presidential Library, and the University of Houston. These institutes were made possible with major funding from the State of Texas and ongoing support from the National Endowment for the Humanities.