September 16, 2006
Planning for Interdisciplinary Teaching and Learning Course Work
Our inaugural seminar is designed to assist teachers in planning their semester or year-long American history and culture courses. We will present ASHP/CML teaching approaches and methods as well as new social history scholarship. The seminar will help teachers identify overarching goals and appropriate resources, plan for performance assessment, and build critical thinking skills to help students prepare for standardized exams, such as the New York State Regents. The seminar will also feature a hands-on activity on how to analyze primary sources, such as the U.S Constitution, in preparation for Constitution Day, September 18, 2006.
October 12, 2006
The Birth of American Freedom
Revolution gave birth to American freedom. Historians have come to understand the American Revolution as a political and social revolution, a civil war at home as well as a battle against colonialism. The colonial period is awash with examples of how different peoples’ struggles for independence shaped the American idea of freedom. Through an examination of the words of Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Paine, Phillis Wheatley, and other early writers, we will explore how the concept of freedom has influenced American nationalism.
Guest lecturer, Dr. David Jaffee, CUNY Graduate Center and City College of New York.
November 10, 2006
Westward Expansion and Emerging Borderlands
Through an examination of the Mexican-American war, participants will learn about the impact of race, Manifest Destiny, and the changing concept of American freedom in the nation’s westward expansion. Participants will read excerpts from Helen Hunt Jackson’s Ramona, the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, and indigenous as well as Mexican voices from the Southwest.
December 1, 2006
The United States and Slavery
The institution of slavery distorted the meaning of American “freedom” by defining it as the opposite “unfreedom.” Guest lecturer Dr. Chad L. Williams of Hamilton College will discuss how slavery shaped the understanding of freedom. There will also be an opportunity to learn about the greatest forced migration in the world, the Atlantic Slave Trade. Lastly, participants will take a tour of the New York Historical Society’s exhibition, Slavery in New York.
March 9, 2007
Fighting for Freedom: Life in Wartime America
Known as the “Good War,” public support for America’s entrance into World War II was mobilized by the rallying cry of freedom. Through visual records, participants will explore one of FDR’s justifications for the war: “Freedom of Speech,” “Freedom of Worship,” “Freedom from Want,” and “Freedom from Fear,” collectively known as The Four Freedoms. They also will learn how African Americans and Mexican Americans challenged institutionalized segregation on the homefront through the “Double V” campaign, military participation, and the quest for full citizenship.
May 4, 2007
The Civil Rights Era
The final session of the year will focus on the Civil Rights Era. Equality, recognition, and self-determination were at the forefront of movements led by ordinary people who ultimately transformed the meaning of freedom. Focusing on the African American and Chicano civil rights movements, participants will examine memoirs, speeches, music, and images representative of the time period. Teachers will also review and discuss portions of the PBS series Chicano! History of the Mexican American Civil Rights Movement.
