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This spring, Humanities Texas will offer online teacher professional development programs on Reconstruction in Texas (January 16–February 6), teaching the speeches of Ronald Reagan (February 22), and teaching the speeches of Barbara Jordan (March 29). In-person workshops will be held on the American Civil War in San Antonio (February 2) and Houston (February 3) and on U.S. civil rights movements in Edinburg (February 7) and Dallas (February 9).

All programs will emphasize close interaction with scholars, the examination of primary sources and texts, and the development of effective pedagogical strategies and engaging assignments and activities.

Reconstruction and the Remaking of Texas (Webinar Series)

"Reconstruction and the Remaking of Texas" will take place via Zoom from 5–6:30 p.m. CT on the following Mondays: January 16, 23, and 30 and February 6. Teachers who register will receive information for each webinar in the series. Attendance at each weekly session is encouraged but not required.

Team-taught by a historian and three master teachers (Andrew Torget, the University of North Texas; Jay Ferguson, Round Rock ISD; Chassidy Olainu-Alade, Fort Bend ISD; and Michelle Phillips, College Station ISD), the sessions will focus on exploring how Reconstruction remade the ways that Texans thought about freedom and citizenship and how state and national governments fought over the fate of both newly freed African Americans and their defeated former enslavers.

The American Civil War: History, Literature, and Culture (In-Person Workshops)

"The American Civil War: History, Literature, and Culture" will take place in San Antonio on February 2 and in Houston on February 3. The workshops, open to social studies and English language arts teachers, will focus on teaching the history, literature, and culture of the American Civil War, expanding participants' understanding of the history of the conflict and its representation in poetry, prose, music, and visual cultures/film. Workshop faculty includes Kathleen Diffley (University of Iowa), Randall Fuller (University of Kansas), Gerald Horne (University of Houston), Coleman Hutchison (The University of Texas at Austin), Caleb McDaniel (Rice University), and Andrew Torget (University of North Texas).

Interdisciplinary Approaches to Teaching the Civil Rights Movements (In-Person Workshops)

"Interdisciplinary Approaches to Teaching the Civil Rights Movements" will take place in Edinburg on February 7 and in Dallas on
February 9. The workshops, open to social studies and English language arts teachers, will expand participants' understanding of the history of the African American and Latino civil rights movements and their representation in literature, music, and visual cultures/film. Workshop faculty includes Maritza De La Trinidad (The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley), Marvin Dulaney (Association for the Study of African American Life and History), John Morán González (The University of Texas at Austin), Aram Goudsouzian (University of Memphis), Max Krochmal (University of New Orleans), J. Todd Moye (University of North Texas), and Dwandalyn Reece (Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture).

Teaching the Speeches of Ronald Reagan (Webinar)

"Teaching the Speeches of Ronald Reagan" will take place over Zoom from 5–6:15 p.m. on February 22. The webinar will offer specific suggestions for teaching Reagan's most significant oratorical works, focusing on their historical context and the rhetorical strategies deployed. The program will consider these speeches' role in Reagan's legacy and highlight the most important takeaways for middle and high school students. Jeremi Suri (The University of Texas at Austin) will lead the webinar.

Teaching the Speeches of Barbara Jordan (Webinar)

"Teaching the Speeches of Barbara Jordan" will take place over Zoom from 5–6:15 p.m. on March 29. The webinar will offer specific suggestions for teaching Jordan's most significant oratorical works, focusing on their historical context and the rhetorical strategies deployed. The program will consider these speeches' role in Jordan's legacy and highlight the most important takeaways for middle and high school students. Karen Kossie-Chernyshev (Texas Southern University) will lead the webinar.

The webinars and one-day workshops 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-level U.S. history, Texas history, and language arts 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.

Participants will receive CPE credit and a wealth of curricular materials. CPE hours will be based on attendance and adjusted if a participant misses any portion of the program.

Please note that due to space limitations, you must be a registered participant to attend any of the in-person workshops.

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

Emancipation by King & Baird, c. 1865. Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress.
Dividing the National Map by Clifford K. Berryman, 1860. Political cartoon satirizing the U.S. presidential election of 1860 in which four candidates vie for the office. Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress.
President Lyndon B. Johnson meets with civil rights leaders in the Oval Office on January 18, 1964. From left to right: Roy Wilkins, James L. Farmer Jr., Martin Luther King Jr., Whitney Young Jr., President Lyndon B. Johnson. LBJ Library photo by Yoichi Okamoto.
Ronald Reagan giving his acceptance speech at the 1980 Republican National Convention. National Archives and Records Administration.
Meeting with civil rights leaders, February 13, 1967. (From l to r:) Andy Biemillier (Legislative Director, AFL-CIO); Texas State Senator Barbara Jordan; and John Doar (Civil Rights Division, Department of Justice). LBJ Presidential Library photo by Yoichi Okamoto.