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This fall, Humanities Texas will conduct in-person teacher professional development programs throughout the state as well as a number of webinars. In-person programs include one-day workshops in San Antonio and Dallas on the American Revolution (September 27 and September 28) and in Houston on Edgar Allan Poe (October 20). We will also offer online programs on the U.S. Constitution (Tuesdays, September 12–October 10), teaching Shakespeare with The Bard in the Borderlands (September 13), National History Day with TSHA (September 18–October 16), and teaching Phillis Wheatley Peters (September 20–27). We will be announcing additional in-person and online programs in the weeks to come, so stay tuned.

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.

Teaching the U.S. Constitution (Webinar Series)

"Teaching the U.S. Constitution" will take place via Zoom from 5:00–6:15 p.m. CT on the following Tuesdays: September 12, September 19, October 3, and October 10. Teachers who register will receive information for each webinar in the series. Attendance for every weekly session is encouraged but not required.

Topics to be addressed include the Articles of Confederation, compromises made in adopting the Constitution, the Federalist and Antifederalist debates on the Constitution's ratification, and the Bill of Rights. Workshop faculty includes Denver Brunsman (George Washington University), Charles Flanagan (National Archives and Records Administration), Lorri Glover (Saint Louis University), and Joseph F. Kobylka (Southern Methodist University).

Teaching Shakespeare with The Bard in the Borderlands (Webinar)

"Teaching Shakespeare with The Bard in the Borderlands" will take place via Zoom from 5:00–6:30 p.m. CT on Wednesday, September 13. The workshop will provide strategies for teaching William Shakespeare’s works and the rich tradition of repurposing his plays to reflect the histories and lived realities of the U.S.-Mexico Borderlands. The webinar will be team-taught by the cofounders of the Borderlands Shakespeare Colectiva: Katherine Gillen and Adrianna M. Santos of Texas A&M University–San Antonio and Kathryn Vomero Santos of Trinity University.

National History Day Webinars with TSHA (Webinar Series)

"National History Day Webinars with TSHA" will take place via Zoom from 5:00–6:30 p.m. on Monday, September 18, and Monday, October 16. Teachers who register will receive information for each webinar. Attendance for both sessions is encouraged but not required.

Held in partnership with the Texas State Historical Association (TSHA), the first webinar will introduce teachers to the National History Day (NHD) program, an exciting project-based learning program that motivates students to explore a topic in Texas, U.S., or world history in depth. The second webinar will help teachers guide and engage their students in research using primary sources.

Teaching Phillis Wheatley Peters (Webinar Series)

"Teaching Phillis Wheatley Peters" will take place via Zoom from 5:00–6:15 p.m. CT on Wednesday, September 20, and Wednesday, September 27. Teachers who register will receive information for each webinar. Attendance for both sessions is encouraged but not required.

Held in partnership with the Phillis Wheatley Peters Project (Texas Christian University and the University of Georgia), this program is part of a yearlong celebration marking the 250th anniversary of the publication of Wheatley's Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral, widely considered the first book of poetry by an African American author. The two webinars will offer a nuanced consideration of Wheatley's texts, contexts, and cultural legacies. The webinars will be team-taught by codirectors of the Phillis Wheatley Peters Project, Barbara McCaskill of University of Georgia and Mona Narain and Sarah Ruffing Robbins of Texas Christian University.

Teaching the American Revolution (In-Person Workshop)

"Teaching the American Revolution" will take place in San Antonio on September 27 and Dallas on September 28. Topics to be addressed include the colonies' growing separation from Britain, the Declaration of Independence, turning points of the Revolutionary War, and women and African Americans during the Revolution. Workshop faculty includes Leslie Alexander (Rutgers Univeristy), Zara Anishanslin (University of Delaware), Denver Brunsman (George Washington University), and Sarah Purcell (Grinnell College).

Teaching Edgar Allan Poe (In-Person Workshop)

"Teaching Edgar Allan Poe" will take place in Houston on October 20. The workshop will provide multiple approaches for generating student interest in and understanding of the varied works of Edgar Allan Poe. Presentations will focus on Poe's poetry and tales, consider his legacy and influence, and highlight the most important takeaways for the secondary-level classroom. Workshop faculty includes Coleman Hutchison (The University of Texas at Austin), J. Gerald Kennedy (Louisiana State University), Robert T. Tally (Texas State University), and Cindy Weinstein (California Institute of Technology).

The one-day workshops and webinars 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 English 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 online 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.

Participants at the 2023 "Teaching the Civil War and Reconstruction" summer teacher institute in Houston.
Scene at the Signing of the Constitution, 1940. Architect of the Capitol, Washington, DC.
The Bard in the Borderlands: An Anthology of Shakespeare Appropriations en La Frontera, edited by Katherine Gillen, Adrianna M. Santos, and Kathryn Vomero Santos.
The frontispiece and title page of Phillis Wheatley's Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral, published in 1773. Collection of the Massachusetts Historical Society.
Washington Crossing the Delaware by Emanuel Leutze, 1851. Gift of John Stewart Kennedy, 1897. The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Daguerreotype of Edgar Allan Poe, known as the "Annie" Daguerreotype, 1849. The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles.