This month, 30 educators from around the United States will convene at the University of Denver for a three-week NEH Summer Institute on “Teaching Connected Histories of the Mediterranean”, co-directed by Professor Andrea L Stanton of the University of Denver and Susan Douglass, a Ph.D. candidate at George Mason University who served as Senior Research Associate in Mason’s Ali Vural Ak Center for Global Islamic Studies for its first four years.
The upcoming session on Mediterranean history, supported by the National Endowment for the Humanities, represents a partnership between George Mason University and the University of Denver to offer secondary school teachers of courses such as world history, world geography, world religions, and global studies the opportunity to focus on the Mediterranean region from a world historical perspective. Under the guidance of leading scholars in this field, participants will explore ways to incorporate this dynamic region into their existing courses at schools around the country.
Building on the strengths of two leading universities in Middle East and Islamic Studies, “Teaching Connected Histories of the Mediterranean” will connect teachers with the recent scholarship on this region and allow them to access new curriculum materials developed under the direction of several prominent scholars, including some of the institute's faculty, for the K-12 classroom.
“We have some of the best scholars working today coming to Denver to share their insights with these teachers,” said co-director Susan Douglass. “This is an unprecedented opportunity to work one-on-one with some of the thinkers who are re-writing the ways in which we all understand human history, and emphasizing how important the Mediterranean continues to be today.”
Every year the National Endowment for the Humanities supports more than 20 summer seminars and institutes for schoolteachers looking to study with experts in humanities disciplines to enrich not only their own understanding of particular subjects, but their course curricula as well.
The 30 teachers selected to participate in the program each receive a stipend of $2,700 to cover their travel, study, and living expenses. Teachers chosen to participate in this institute come from public and private schools around the United States, and teach a range of subjects and students.
“We were delighted by the strong applications we received,” said co-director Andrea Stanton of the University of Denver. “Our accepted participants are a stellar group of high-achieving teachers, whose interest in furthering their own education to be able to more effectively teach their students is inspiring.”
The approximately 545 NEH Summer Scholars chosen to participate in the 2015 NEH Summer Seminars and Institutes will teach almost 68,000 American students the following year. Participants commit to using content from the institute in their teaching and to share insights from the institute with colleagues, helping further spread the impact of this institute, and helping bring fresh scholarship, relevant primary sources, and educational best practices to enrich the education of students around the United States.
“We expect that institute participants will return home with a new perspective on the courses they teach, and that the students they teach will be the ultimate beneficiaries,” said Stanton.
To learn more about the institute, including guest speakers and the full program of study, visit www.teachconnectedhistories.org.
Adapted from NEH Press Release
June 08, 2015
