Members of the 2007 class with David McCulloughCenter for the Study of Early American History

The Cultural Quilt:
Ethnic Influences on Early American History

July 14-18 and 21-25, 2008

The Center for the Study of Early American History at The General Henry Knox Museum announces its third annual Summer Teacher Institute, open to all teachers of history and social studies.

The program integrates classroom lectures, hands-on projects, public events and field trips, focusing on a “place-based” exploration of history. During the 2008 Institute participants will examine the impact that Native American, French, African, German, Dutch, Irish, Italian and Chinese cultures had on the settlement, formation and early history of the United States. Teachers may apply for one or both weeks of the program.

Funding from the Sunshine Lady Foundation and the Institute for Museum and Library Services allows us to offer this program free of charge, and some free housing is available for students not able to commute. In this course, participants will:

  • Increase their subject knowledge of early American history through community resources and stories

  • Learn from noted experts and scholars, including Pulitzer Prize-winning author, David McCullough

  • Earn up to 4.5 CEU's or register with the University of Maine's Hutchinson Center for college credit (3 credit hours)

  • Complete a research project that informs their work in the classroom

  • Earn a $200 stipend to implement a history project in their classroom ($100 for each week)

Application package
Priority will be given to applications received before May 1st

Offered in conjunction with the University of Maine's Hutchinson Center, course # EDW 462/472
Participants must also register with the Hutchinson Center and pay tuition to receive college credit.

Highlights for Week 1

  • Pulitzer Prize-winning author David McCullough

  • New England and the China Trade with historian Renny Stackpole

  • Historic Depictions of Native Americans in Art with Roger Dell, Adjunct Lecturer at Harvard University

  • Ladies of Liberty with author and National Public Radio Senior News Analyst Cokie Roberts

  • Many Identities, One Nation: The American Revolution and its Legacy in the Mid-Atlantic with University of Maine Associate Professor Liam Riordan

  • Field Trip to the Abbe Museum

Highlights for Week 2

  • Pulitzer Prize-winning author David McCullough

  • Ethnic Influences on Early American Food with historian Sandy Oliver

  • Africans in Early Maine with Randolph Stakeman, Bowdoin College Associate Professor of History Emeritus

  • Blacks in Early New England with Old Fort Western

  • Lafayette in America with author Alan Hoffman

  • Field trip to African American Peterborough Cemetery with Warren Historical Society

For more information:
The General Henry Knox Museum
Center for the Study of Early American History
PO Box 326
Thomaston, ME 04861
(207) 354-0858, Fax (207) 354-0886
Email: center@knoxmuseum.org
Educational Resources for schools and teachers

Funding for this program provided by:

The Sunshine Lady Foundation Institute of Museum and Library Services