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Humanities Texas is now accepting applications for our 2016 summer teacher professional development institutes. In June, we will hold institutes in Houston (June 6–9) on early-nineteenth century America; in San Antonio (June 12–16) on U.S. history from the periods of European exploration to American Revolution; in Austin (June 13–16) on U.S. history from 1945 to 1960; in Austin (June 6–9) and El Paso (June 14–17) on the American literary tradition; and in San Marcos (June 19–22) on the American Southwest from the colonial period through the twentieth century.

Program partners include the University of Houston, The University of Texas at San Antonio, the LBJ Presidential Library, The University of Texas at Austin College of Liberal Arts, The University of Texas at El Paso, and the Texas State University Center for the Study of the Southwest.

As in past years, institutes will emphasize close interaction with scholars, the examination of primary sources, and the development of effective pedagogical strategies and engaging assignments and activities.

America from Jefferson to Jackson

The institute in Houston (June 6–9), titled "America from Jefferson to Jackson," will take place at the University of Houston and cover central topics in the early national period thorugh Andrew Jackson's presidency, including efforts to define the authority of the federal government; the development of political parties; Jefferson’s and Madison's presidencies; the Marshall court; women in early nineteenth-century America; slavery; the American economy in the 1820s and 1830s; the Monroe Doctrine and U.S. foreign policy; Jacksonian democracy; the displacement of Native Americans; the rise of sectionalism; and manifest destiny.

From Colonists to Revolutionaries

The institute in San Antonio (June 12–16), titled "From Colonists to Revolutionaries," will take place at The University of Texas at San Antonio and will address topics central to the colonial and revolutionary periods, including European exploration and colonization of North America; the economic, cultural, and religious life of the British colonies; the development of representative government and political institutions; the French and Indian War; the American Revolution; slavery in the British Empire; the situation of American Indians; women in the borderlands; and the history of Texas during the Mexican national and revolutionary periods.

Post-War America, 1945-1960

The institute in Austin (June 13–16), titled "Post-War America, 1945-1960," will take place at the LBJ Presidential Library and will cover topics in post-war U.S. history, including the transition of the U.S. economy from wartime to peace; the origins of the Cold War and containment policy; the emergence of mass consumerism; the Truman presidency; the rise of rock and roll; the civil rights movement; significant women in post-war America; the battle against polio and other medical advances of the period; the Eisenhower presidency; and American life, literature, and film after the war.

Teaching the American Literary Tradition

The English language arts institutes in Austin (June 6–9) and El Paso (June 14–17), titled "Teaching the American Literary Tradition," will take place at The University of Texas at Austin and The University of Texas at El Paso and will focus on topics and skills central to the state's eleventh-grade ELA curriculum. Topics to be addressed include the American Renaissance; the literature of the Civil War era and the Gilded Age; the Harlem Renaissance; American writing during the World Wars; the rhetoric of the civil rights movement; American drama and poetry; and Southwest and Latino literature in the twentieth century.

The History of the American Southwest

The institute in San Marcos (June 19–22), titled "The History of the American Southwest," will take place at the Wittliff Collections at the Albert B. Alkek Library at Texas State University and will cover such topics as Spanish exploration and colonization; Native Americans in the Southwest; slavery in the nineteenth-century Southwest; the Mexican National Period; westward expansion and manifest destiny; art and literature of the Southwest; the Texas Revolution; immigration to the Southwest; and the political and economic history of the Southwest.

The institutes are open to all middle and high school social studies, language arts, and humanities teachers but will focus on topics and skills central to the state's secondary U.S. history and Texas history curricula. Priority consideration will be given to early-career teachers in low-performing schools and districts.

More information about each program is available in the Education section of the Humanities Texas website. Teachers interested in attending should submit an application as soon as possible, as admissions are rolling and space is limited.

Please note that due to space limitations, you must be a registered participant to attend any of the institutes.

These programs are made possible with support from the State of Texas and the National Endowment for the Humanities. The keynote lectures for the U.S. history institutes in Austin, Houston, and San Antonio are supported in part with a generous grant from the Pulitzer Centennial Campfires Initiative.

Action between USS Constitution and HMS Guerriere, August 19, 1812, by Michel Felice Corne. Image courtesy of U.S. Naval Academy Museum.
Detail from the Constitution mural in the rotunda of the National Archives, Washington, DC, by Barry Faulkner, 1936. National Archives and Records Administration.
A street scene in Eagle River, Wisconsin, in the 1950s.
Interior of dome in the Main Reading Room of the Library of Congress Thomas Jefferson Building, Washington, DC. Photograph by Carol M. Highsmith. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division.
Detail from the Pass of the North mural in the U.S. Courthouse, El Paso, Texas, by Tom Lea, 1938. Oil on canvas, 11 x 54 feet. Commissioned through the Section of Fine Arts, 1934–1943. Fine Arts Collection, U.S. General Services Administration. Courtesy Tom Lea Institute.