Past Institutes

Teaching African American History Webinars (Fall 2020)

In the fall of 2020, Humanities Texas held several webinars for secondary-level social studies teachers focused on helping students better understand African American history.

Citizenship, Slavery, and the U.S. Constitution

Monday, October 26, 2020
5:00–6:15 p.m. CT

The historian James Oliver Horton writes that to understand the nation’s formation, it is essential to address “the contradiction of a freedom-loving people tolerating and profiting from depriving their fellow human beings of freedom.” How did the founders understand race and citizenship? How did debates over slavery shape the development of the U.S. Constitution? How do those debates help students better understand the founding period?

Faculty for this session includes Daina Ramey Berry, professor and chair of the Department of History, and Keffrelyn D. Brown and Anthony L. Brown, professors in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction at The University of Texas at Austin.

Race and Reform in the 1920s

Monday, November 2, 2020
5:00–6:15 p.m. CT

How did American conceptions of race change in the 1920s? How did race figure in discussions over eugenics, nativism, immigration, and social change?

Faculty for this session includes Daina Ramey Berry, professor and chair of the Department of History, and Keffrelyn D. Brown and Anthony L. Brown, professors in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction at The University of Texas at Austin.

Teaching Slavery in the Early Republic

Monday, November 30, 2020
5:00–6:15 p.m. CT

It is difficult for students and teachers to discuss even the most basic facts about slavery in early American history. This webinar will cover the history of slavery in the Early Republic and provide teachers with strategies and resources for teaching this profoundly challenging subject.

Faculty for this session includes Daina Ramey Berry, professor and chair of the Department of History, and Keffrelyn D. Brown and Anthony L. Brown, professors in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction at The University of Texas at Austin.

The Difference Black History Knowledge Can Make

Thursday, December 3, 2020
5:00–6:30 p.m. CT

This presentation will define essential components of Black history knowledge and the psychological impact of teaching this information to students, particularly those who identify as Black/African American. Particular attention will be given to psychosocial development and how Black history knowledge can positively impact it. Teachers will have an opportunity to receive and discuss TEKS-aligned strategies for effectively implementing such knowledge into their curriculum (with attention given to contemporary issues of racial injustice) as well as potentially helpful (and developmentally appropriate) ways to facilitate productive classroom discussions based on these topics.

Faculty for this session includes Andrea Holman, associate professor of psychology at Huston-Tillotson University, and Collete Chapman-Hilliard of the University of Georgia.

African Americans and World War II

Monday, December 7, 2020
5:00–6:15 p.m. CT

What were African Americans’ experiences in World War II, both in combat and on the home front? How did their experiences set the stage for the postwar period?

Faculty for this session includes Daina Ramey Berry, professor and chair of the Department of History, and Keffrelyn D. Brown and Anthony L. Brown, professors in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction at The University of Texas at Austin.

Sponsors

These online workshops are made possible with major funding from the State of Texas with ongoing support from the National Endowment for the Humanities.