Dear Colleague,

We are delighted that you are considering coming to Chicago to participate in The

HistoryMakers' 2010 National Endowment for the Humanities Summer Institute on
African American Political History. Our Institute will be part of the NEH's Programs

for School and College Educators and it is designed to encourage and enhance the
teaching, study, and understanding of African American history and culture. African

American politics is an often overlooked and frequently misunderstood part of the
black experience. It is intended to be an intensive program for those high school

teachers who are serious about learning and want to increase their professional
development.

In light of recent events, the historical election of the first African American
president of the United States, and ongoing scholarly debates on the place of race,

class and culture in contemporary African American life, no subject could be timelier
and no scholarship could be more relevant to our students, our communities, our

nation and the world. This Institute is not merely about reclaiming a useable past, it
seeks to refocus our understanding of the African American Experience through the

prism of issues and concerns that are both 400 years old and as relevant as today's
on-line newspaper.

American history reached a new milestone with the election of its first African
American president, Barack Obama. This election has ignited interest from across

the globe regardless of age, gender, nationality or ethnicity. For American youth in
particular, the 2008 presidential campaign and the election of President Obama has

excited their imaginations and rekindled their sense of hope and optimism.
However, today's teachers are presently ill equipped to teach the history of African

American political development or to incorporate this material into their classes on
American history, state history, civics or politics. The HistoryMakers Summer

Institute for Teachers will help to correct this problem. The Institute, while covering
a broad chronological time period, will be limited to one theme: African American

political development in the context of American political history. The goals of the
Institute will be to: 1) select twenty-five teachers from across the nation through a

competitive application process; 2) bring them to Chicago for a month-long
immersion program exposing them to some of the nation's leading historians and

introducing them to the rich resources of The HistoryMakers digital archive and
website (www.thehistorymakers.com); 3) expose them to other primary source

materials and the holdings of some of Chicago's leading institutions through
organized field trips and research outings; 4) teach them to effectively incorporate

oral history into their curriculum to engage youth; 5) require that all Institute
teachers develop curriculum for integration into their classrooms and share this

curriculum with each other and with other teachers; and 6) prepare and encourage
all Institute teachers to serve as master teachers in their communities by holding

"Teacher teach the Teacher" sessions. This rigorous intellectual experience will
challenge Institute teachers to broaden their knowledge base and to rekindle their

own passion for learning.

The HistoryMakers will sponsor a four-week Institute from Sunday, July 4, 2010 to
Friday, July 30, 2010 for twenty-five high school teachers. The Institute will

examine the entire breadth of African American political history from the period of
the early American republic through the election of President Barack Obama

through four major themes: 1) African American Political Development Pre and Post
Civil War; 2) Early 20th Century Black Political Strategies, Civil Rights Unionism,

and WWII and Cold War Racial Politics; 3) the Civil Rights Movement; and 4) 1970s
Black Politics and the New Generation of Black Politicians. Each week will be

divided into more specific topics as outlined in the Project Content and
Implementation section of this grant proposal.

Dr. Charles Branham, the Senior Historian at the DuSable Museum of African
American History and a noted African American political history scholar, and

Julieanna Richardson, Founder and Executive Director of The HistoryMakers and a
noted oral historian will co-direct the Institute. Ashley Howard and Joey Lipari,

two University of Illinois Ph.D. candidates in African American studies, will support
him. Howard and Lipari will serve as full-time project staff. Dr. Branham played an

instrumental role in helping to develop The HistoryMakers' groundbreaking
Pioneers in the Struggle. Pioneers in Struggle, a documentary video, interactive CD

Rom and curriculum guide for 6th to 12th grade teachers, documented for the first
time the little known history of African Americans who served in the Illinois General

Assembly from 1877-2001.

Our Goal

The most important goal of the Institute is to incorporate African American political
history into the larger scope of American political history. Currently, there is a wide

gap between what scholars of African American history have documented and what
is currently being taught in American history and civics courses at the secondary

level. The Institute will work to bridge that gap and improve the quality of history,
government and civics curriculum by having middle and high school teachers

directly interact with academic and scholarly specialists in African American
political history. They will also be trained in the disciplines of oral history while

having unique access to primary source material. Instead of simply teaching the
history of prominent African Americans and their accomplishments, the Institute

will focus on building contextual knowledge of each historical period or topic and
placing prominent individuals within a spectrum of contemporaneous movements,

institutions, and political contexts. The Institute will also broaden the teachers own
understanding of American political history, which will, in turn, enable them to

support their students' budding interests and transform them into lifelong passions.
The topics covered in the Institute reflect seminal moments of social change and

institutional development in black American politics. By participating, Institute
teachers will acquire the necessary contextual knowledge and skill sets to explain

and discuss such sensitive issues as economic and political inequality, racial
oppression, and political violence.

Our Methodology

To date, much about African American history, including African American political
history, has been learned through oral history methodologies, collecting first-person

narratives to gather untold stories. The challenge to educators has been gaining
access to these oral history records and using them successfully in the classroom. As

learning and teaching become increasingly interactive and video an everyday
occurrence, being skilled and comfortable with digital technology, video and web-

based applications is no longer a luxury, but a requirement.

Digital access to oral history interviews represents one of the most exciting

pedagogical developments in recent years. The HistoryMakers stands poised as the
preeminent institution to introduce an immense collection of first-person oral

history interviews into the 21st century classroom with its existing collection of
8,000 hours of first person narratives. The Institute will incorporate The

HistoryMakers website and The HistoryMakers unique searchable digital archive of
400 interviews (1200 hours of videotaped testimony) into the Institute's

curriculum. This digital archive includes thousands of stories of political and civil
leaders like President Barack Obama, Julian Bond, and Congresswoman Maxine

Waters as well as primary source information on many social, civic and politically-
led movements dating back to the 1700s putting the tragedy and triumph of history

at the fingertips of teachers, researchers, and students alike. Each week of the
Institute will require participant interaction with the oral history interviews as

primary sources through use of The HistoryMakers' digital archive.

What Makes This Institute Unique

To enhance their scholarly pursuits, the Institute will include two innovative
projects designed to expand participants' primary research experience and oral

history interviewing skills. These projects will encourage each teacher to synthesize
their studies while merging new knowledge sets with newly acquired classroom

resources. On Monday, May 30, 2010, prior to their arrival at the Institute,
participants will be required to choose a relevant research topic per research era.

Participants will be assigned to one of 4 groups based on the topics chosen: 1)
African American Political Development Pre and Post Civil War; 2) Early 20th

Century Black Political Strategies, Civil Rights Unionism, and WWII and Cold War
Racial Politics; 3) the Civil Rights Movement; and 4) 1970s Black Politics and the

New Generation of Black Politicians.

At this time, Institute participants will also be provided with access to the Institute's

website with links to all partner institutions' websites, biographies and contact
information for the Institute Visiting Scholars, information about Institute teachers,

a complete Institute schedule, required and recommended readings, The
HistoryMakers digital archive, a forum section for all participants to make

introductions and start discussions and information about travel to and within the

City of Chicago. The website will be maintained following the conclusion of the
Institute so that all information and activities, including the posting of the teachers'

final projects, will remain accessible. Participants will also receive a guest user
name and password for the university library. This will allow them to use UIC's

library resources.

At the end of the Institute, each participant will have completed his/her own

research project and turned this research into curriculum for classroom
implementation. This research will be conducted using UIC Library, The

HistoryMakers digital archive and website and at the Institute's partner institutions.
Participants will formally present their research and share their curriculum and

lesson plans with the entire group at the end of the Institute. This suite of resources,
curriculum and lesson plans will be posted to The HistoryMakers website to be

accessible not only to Institute teachers but also to anyone with Web access.
Combined with their experience at the Institute, the participants will also be

equipped to bring these materials back to their local school districts and serve as a
"master teachers" to other history and civics teachers in their area as part of a

"Teacher teach the Teacher" initiative.

The Institute's second innovative project will provide participants with oral history

instruction from two notable oral historians, The HistoryMakers Founder and
Executive Director, Julieanna Richardson and University of Illinois Swanlund

Endowed Chair of Center for Advanced Studies and Professor of Journalism, Leon
Dash. In the first week of the Institute, the participants will be provided with

specific readings on the history of oral history as well as background on how to
conduct both subject matter and life oral history interviews. These sessions will be

co-taught by Julieanna Richardson and Leon Dash. At the end of this training
session, several political leaders and civic leaders will be on hand to be interviewed

by our participants in practice oral history interview sessions.

Our Format

The four-week Institute will be divided into themes:

African American Political Development Pre and Post Civil War

Early 20th Century Black Political Strategies, Civil Rights Unionism, and
WWII and Cold War Racial Politics

The Civil Rights Movement

1970s Black Politics and the New Generation of Black Politicians

Week One (July 5th July 9th): Participants will arrive on campus on Sunday, July

4, 2010. The Co-Project Directors and Project Staff will welcome the teachers and
representatives of the partner organizations at a "get acquainted" barbeque.

Theme 1: African American Political Development before and after the Civil
War

Weekly Readings: Beyond Garrison: Antislavery and Social Reform by Bruce
Laurie, Our Lincoln: New Perspectives on Lincoln and His World by Eric Foner,

Interviewing as Qualitative Research: A Guide for Researchers in Education and
Social Sciences by Irving Seidman.

The Institute will begin with an introductory lecture and overview of the Institute's
theme of African American political history by Project Director, Dr. Charles

Branham, followed by a library orientation and training as well as training on use of
The HistoryMakers digital archive. This will be done by UIC Special Collections

archivist, Kathryn Stine. Institute participants will meet those who are in their
assigned working groups. The working groups will be assigned by research topic in

groups of six . One group will have seven members in its group.

Dr. Bruce Laurie, author of Beyond Garrison: Antislavery and Social Reform will lead

a session on black politics during slavery and the history of abolitionist politics.
Participants will be guided into a discussion on President Lincoln's evolving views

on race and slavery and his decision to emancipate the slaves in 1863, as well as the
consequences of Lincoln's decision. This lecture will also cover the rise and demise

of the first generation of black politicians in the late 19th century. Project Staff will
also lead a presentation on historical research methods in order to prepare the

participants for primary source research at archival institutions of their choice for
their summer research project. The week will end with a workshop on oral history

methods with a focus on the WPA oral histories and slave narratives as well as
interviewing techniques and the particular challenges and benefits of using oral

histories in research and/or for classroom instruction. . These sessions will be led
by noted oral historians Leon Dash and Julieanna Richardson. Two afternoons,

the Institute will take a break from formal lectures to receive a tour and
presentation of the collection at the DuSable Museum of African American

History, Chicago History Museum and the Special Collections at UIC Library.
Participants will also start work Week One on their individual lesson plans as well

as their presentations.

Week Two (July 11th-16th)

Theme: Early 20th Century Black Political Strategies, Civil Rights Unionism, WWII
and Cold War Racial Politics

Weekly Readings: Address, Atlanta Cotton Exposition , by Booker T.
Washington, The Talented Tenth, by W.E.B. DuBois and chapters from Ida: A

Sword Among Lions: Ida B. Wells and the Campaign Against Lynching by Paula J.
Giddings, Black Protest and the Great Migration by Eric Arnesen, "The Great

War, Black Workers, and the Rise and Fall of the NAACP in the South" in
Arnesen, ed. The Black Worker: Race, Labor, and Civil Rights Since

Emancipation, "A New Crowd Challenges the Agenda of the Old Guard in the

NAACP, 1933-1941," by Beth Tompkins Bates in American Historical Review, A.
Phillip Randolph: A Life in the Vanguard by Andrew Kersten, and "Opportunities

Found and Lost: Labor, Radicals, and the Early Civil Rights Movement" by Robert
Kordstad and Nelson Lichtenstein in Journal of American History.

The second week of the Institute will focus on the various strategies employed by
African Americans in response to the rise of Jim Crow policies that were established

in the 1890s. Professor Josh Radinsky, Assistant Professor of the Learning
Sciences and Curriculum Studies at the University of Illinois at Chicago's College of

Education will provide a morning lecture and afternoon discussion that will explore
the differences in perspectives of Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. DuBois, the role

of black women's clubs in local community politics and the life and politics of anti-
lynching advocate Ida B. Wells. His discussion will highlight the digital collection of

the Ida B. Wells Papers at the Northern Illinois University library. Professor James
Conyers, Director of the African American Studies Program and University

Professor of African American Studies at the University of Houston, Texas will
discuss the themes of Pan-Africanism and the New Negro Movement while

preeminent labor historian Dr. Eric Arnesen will speak on the subject of civil rights
unionism. Dr. Arnesen, professor of history and African American studies at the

University of Illinois at Chicago, will note the gains made by African American
workers and their growing importance as a part of FDR's New Deal political

coalition. Several afternoon sessions will be devoted to individual research at area
archives. The week will also incorporate field trips and tours of The Carter G.

Woodson Library's Vivian G. Harsh Research Collection of Afro-American
History and Literature and Northwestern University Special Collections.

Participants will continue work during Week Two on their individual lesson plans
as well as their presentations.

Week Three (July 19th-24th)

Theme: The Civil Rights Movement

Weekly Readings: Chapters from Death of Innocence: The Story of the Hate

Crime That Changed America by Mamie Till-Mobley and Christopher Benson,
Parting the Waters: America in the King Years, 1954-1963 by Taylor Branch,

Local People: The Struggle for Civil Rights in Mississippi by John Dittmer, and
The Black Power Movement: Rethinking the Civil Rights-Black Power Era by

Peniel Joseph.

Many civil rights activists often cite the case of Emmitt Till as a seminal and catalytic

moment in the Civil Rights period. Attorney/journalist and author of Death of
Innocence: The Story of the Hate Crime That Changed America Christopher Benson

will discuss his oral history interview of Mamie Till-Mobley and the lynching of
Emmitt Till. The rest of week three will focus on a variety of aspects of the Civil

Rights movement from the mid-1950s through the mid-1960s. Professor V.P.

Franklin, a Distinguished Professor of History and Education at the University of
California and editor of The Journal of African American History, will lecture on the

emergence of religious leaders as political agents, the role of Dr. Martin Luther King,
Jr., the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) and other organizations

such as the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) and Congress and
Racial Equality (CORE). Dr. Frances Jones Sneed, professor of history and Director

of Women's Studies at Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts, will offer an insightful
lecture on the role of women and grassroots leaders in the Civil Rights Movement

and the importance of youth activism to the movement. There will also be a
discussion of the Mississippi Freedom Summer and the Mississippi Freedom

Democratic Party. Professor V.P. Franklin will discuss the emergence of Malcolm X
and the impact of Black Power on the evolution of the American Civil Rights

movement. Also, in order for the participants to practice their oral history
interviewing skills, The HistoryMakers will bring in eight prominent African

Americans political figures from around the state and city to sit for practice
interviews with the participants. In groups of three, the participants will engage in

oral history interviews of state legislators, city aldermen, county officials, civic
leaders and even political reporters. These interviews will be videotaped and

critiqued by project staff. Participants will continue work during Week Three on
their individual lesson plans as well as their presentations.

Week Four (July 26th-31st)

Theme: 1970s Black Politics and the New Generation of Black Politicians

Weekly Readings: Stirrings in the Jug: Black Politics in the Post-Segregation Era
by Adolph Reed, Jr. and The Breakthrough: Politics and Race in the Age of

Obama by Gwen Ifill.

The final week of the Institute will focus on African American politics after the Civil

Rights Movement and the emergence of a new generation of black political leaders.
Professor Christopher Reed, Professor Emeritus at Roosevelt University in

Chicago, will lecture on the nature of national black politics during the 1970s. The
participants will discuss the impact of the first two presidential campaigns of

African Americans Shirley Chisholm and Reverend Jesse Jackson, Sr. The last series
of Institute lectures will cover the new generation of black politicians epitomized by

President Barack Obama, Governor Deval Patrick of Massachusetts, Mayor Corey
Booker of Newark, and chairman of the Republican Party, Michael Steele. University

of Chicago Professor Michael Dawson will lecture on the political effects of urban
poverty and the use of polling to measure African American political behavior,

identity, and public opinion. During the final week(Week Four) of the Institute,
three days will be devoted to formal presentations on the participants' research

projects where they will share the lesson plans based on his or her research, and
discuss the project's implications for classroom curriculum. In the evening, The

HistoryMakers will hold a farewell dinner for all Institute participants.

Project Faculty, Staff and Visiting Lecturers

Dr. Charles Branham (Project Director), Senior Historian, DuSable Museum of
African American History

Dr. Eric Arnesen, Professor of History, University of Illinois at Chicago

Dr. Chris Benson, Associate Professor, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Dr. James Conyers, Director of the African American Studies Program, University of
Houston, Texas

Mr. Leon Dash, Professor of Journalism, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Dr. Michael Dawson, Professor of Political Science, University of Chicago

Dr. V.P. Franklin, Professor of History and Education, University of California,?

Ms. Ashley Howard, M.A., Graduate Fellow, The HistoryMakers

Dr. Bruce Laurie, Senior Lecturer, University of Warwick

Mr. Joseph Lipari, (Ph.D. ABD),

Dr. Josh Radinsky Assistant Professor of the Learning Sciences, University of Illinois
at Chicago

Dr. Christopher Reed, Professor Emeritus, Roosevelt University

Julieanna Richardson, Founder and Executive Director, The HistoryMakers

Dr. Frances Jones Sneed, Director of Women's Studies, Massachusetts College of
Liberal Arts

Ms. Kathryn Stine, Archivist, University of Illinois at Chicago Special Collections

Applicant Profile

Twenty-five participants will be selected from across the nation. The Institute's
selection criteria will aim to produce a mix of women and men from urban,

suburban and rural areas representing school systems of all sizes. Priority will be
given to teachers with a record of achievement and who teach American and African

American history or civics, politics or government. Participants will be selected
according to the following criteria:

Commitment to teaching

Experience and success in teaching

Intellectual curiosity and desire to learn

4. Interest in incorporating oral history in the classroom

The ability of the teachers to serve as Master Teachers in their communities

The ability of the teachers to play an active and ongoing role in the Institute's

network

The ability of The HistoryMakers Summer Institute to meet the curricular

needs of the applicant.

The Institute will carefully choose its applicants. The diversity of applicants'
backgrounds, type of school, level of experience, leadership, commitment to

learning, interest and background in the subject matter and geographic location will
be taken into account with a view towards creating a true a learning community that

will function as a genuine academy. Selection of participants will be conducted by a
panel convened by the Institute's Co-Project Directors, a local secondary educator,

and two of the visiting scholars taking part in the Institute. The selection panel will
follow all applicable federal, state and local guidelines and nondiscrimination

statues in making its selections.

Professional Development for Participants

The HistoryMakers is experienced in granting professional teacher certifications and
will provide its Institute participants the necessary documentation for them to

receive appropriate continuing education units and professional development credit
(CPUs or CPDUs) from their local institutions and school districts. At the close of the

Institute, participants will receive a letter and certificate indicating their successful
completion. They will also leave the Institute with valuable subject matter expertise

and return to their communities and school districts as "master teachers" capable of
sharing the newly acquired knowledge and thereby improving the quality of local

teaching.

The HistoryMakers

The HistoryMakers is a unique national, 501(c)(3) non-profit educational institution
committed to preserving, developing and providing easy access to an internationally

recognized, archival collection of thousands of African American video oral
histories. The HistoryMakers represents the single largest archival project of its kind

in the world.

Since its inception in July of 1999, The HistoryMakers has made the creation of a

useable educational resource its priority. It has experimented with a variety of
vehicles to ensure public accessibility and educational use. Through The

HistoryMakers Education Institute, The HistoryMakers has created opportunities for
students and teachers to discuss topics such as courage, resourcefulness, fairness

and opportunity through a multi-cultural lens anchored in the experiences of real
people and students themselves. The HistoryMakers' first foray into the educational

arena began with the creation in 2002 of Pioneers in the Struggle, a documentary
video, interactive CD-Rom and teacher's curriculum guide, chronicling the

involvement of African Americans in the Illinois General Assembly from 1877 to
2001. Pioneers in the Struggle was distributed free of charge to schools (grades 6-

12) throughout the State of Illinois. This instructional guide was created through
extensive primary research using the resources of the Chicago History Museum, the

Chicago Defender archives and Carter G. Woodson Library, all of who have signed on
to our Summer Institute as partner institutions. In 2001, Pioneers in the Struggle

teacher trainings were held around the State of Illinois. The curriculum developed is
still being used in classrooms around the State of Illinois. In fact, at Chicago State

University, an entire exhibit space has been dedicated to Pioneers in the Struggle and
often The HistoryMakers conducts training sessions for local teachers at Chicago

State University. A series of facilitated teacher trainings were conducted over the
summer of 2002 to instruct teachers on how to effectively use the package in the

classroom. These teacher trainings continued throughout 2003 under a $75,000
grant from Cititgroup Foundation. A December 2002 review of Pioneers in the

Struggle by School Library Journal reported that Pioneers in the Struggle "...is a well-
made and interesting kit, and it meets its objectives in showing viewers the

importance of black legislators in the struggle for civil rights and equality."

The HistoryMakers then instituted a one-day teacher training institute entitled Meet

the HistoryMakers: A Day of Education in October of 2002. Over 300 Chicago public
school teachers, students and librarians attended a day of seminars during which 60

HistoryMakers from around the country discussed their lives and experiences in a
series of panel presentations. Hands-on workshops were conducted to instruct

teachers on how to access and utilize The HistoryMakers internet-based archive as
an instructional tool, and over 100 teachers received on-site training on the use of

The HistoryMakers' multimedia educational package, Pioneers in the Struggle.
Curriculum materials based on The HistoryMakers Internet resource were

distributed to teachers on site. Teachers left the program with curriculum support
and knowledge of how to conduct an oral history interview. Moreover, many

students indicated that by listening and interacting with the panelists, they gained a
greater understanding of career paths, learned more about topics of current interest

or found themselves attracted to a new subject or idea. Students indicated
admiration for panelists and demonstrated increased motivation and self esteem

through exposure to the HistoryMakers themselves.

The HistoryMakers expanded its education program in 2003 with a yearlong

Institute that included a two week Summer Training Institute for 40 middle and
high school Chicago Public School teachers. This Institute was then taken to Los

Angeles, Washington, D.C. and Atlanta in cooperation with area institutions like the
California African American Museum, Howard University and Morehouse University.

Thousands of teachers and students were introduced to a variety of new and
different resources that could be implemented in a classroom curriculum. Attendees

learned how to access and use both The HistoryMakers website and digital archive
and how to conduct oral history interviews. Students were encouraged to submit

oral history projects using The HistoryMakers archives. The best projects were then
selected for posting on The HistoryMakers website.

The HistoryMakers educational programming has consistently provided first-class

scholarly education for our nation's teachers while demonstrating that teachers and
students respond enthusiastically to the challenge of engaging the most profound

ideas at the core of American history. In fact, I 2008, Professor Leon Dash and
Founder and Executive Director, Julieanna Richardson, held an intensive oral history

training institute.

The HistoryMakers Institute will be held at the facilities of the University of Illinois at

Chicago where participants will be immersed in an intensive learning environment
in a university atmosphere. The participants will be housed in the student

dormitories of the university campus and have easy access to a state-of-the-art
research library, a recreational facility, dining and grocery options, and parking.

The university's facility management has already communicated to The
HistoryMakers its ability to accommodate the Institute's group of twenty five high

school teachers from July 3, 2010 - Aug 1, 2010.

In addition to our partnership with the University of Illinois, the Institute will take

advantage of the numerous archival and research facilities in the City of Chicago that
correspond with our Institute's focus on African American political history.

Accommodations in Chicago

Participants will stay in Thomas Beckham Hall provided by the University of Illinois-

Chicago. Beckham Hall is located west of the loop in an area called University
Village with shops and restaurants within walking distance. The residence hall

features free Internet, on-site laundry facilities, a computer lab, and 24 hour
security. Participants will stay in two or four person apartments with a shared

bathroom, kitchen, and living room. To further encourage a true learning
community, all participants will be required to stay in the provided housing

facilities.

Stipend, Tenure, and Conditions of Award

Teachers selected to participate in the program will receive a stipend of $3,300.

Stipends are intended to help cover travel to and from Chicago and living expenses
for the duration of the period spent in residence. Stipends are taxable. Applicants

should note that supplements will not be given in cases where the stipend is
insufficient to cover all expenses.

Seminar and institute participants are required to attend all meetings and to engage
fully in the work of the institute. During the program, they may not undertake

teaching assignments or any other professional activities unrelated to their
participation in the institute. Participants who, for any reason, do not complete the

full tenure of the project must refund a pro-rata portion of the stipend.

At the end of the project's residential period, participants will be asked to submit

online evaluations in which they review their work during the summer and assess

its value to their personal and professional development. These evaluations will
become part of the project's grant file and may become part of an application to

repeat the seminar or institute.

Credit

The HistoryMakers is working with the University of Illinois at Chicago to arrange in
service or graduate credit for its participants. More information about this will be

forthcoming. All participants will be classified during their stay as Visiting Scholars.

The Application Process

We anticipate an exciting mix of professionals and scholarly interests in our
Institute and we welcome a wide variety of interests and qualifications. A passion

for history and a willingness to engage ideas and discuss and debate issues are a
must. We especially encourage social studies, history and civics teachers who wish

to enrich their curricula using oral history interviews and techniques, enhance their
understanding of contemporary events, and rethink their understanding of African

American and American history. We are also looking for leaders. Teachers who will
go back and "model" for other teachers the ideas, approaches and skills they have

acquired in this four-week Institute and would want hear how you propose to do so.

Application information is included in this letter. Completed applications should be

postmarked no later than Tuesday, March 2, 2010 and should be addressed as
follows:

Julieanna Richardson
NEH Grant Coordinator

The HistoryMakers
1900 S. Michigan Avenue

Chicago, Illinois 60616
Each application will include:

1. An essay no longer than four double-spaces pages outlining the following:

a. Any personal or academic information that you deem relevant

b. Your reasons for applying to the Institute and the support of your

institution in your application

c. Your specific personal and intellectual interest in African American

political history and your plans for using this subject matter in your
classroom

d. Your qualifications to do the work of the Institute and make a

contribution to it

e. What you hope to accomplish by your participation

f. Any relationship between the topic of this Institute and your own

teaching and how you plan to serve as a master teacher

g. Your interest in learning how to do oral history and using it in your

classroom

2. Resume or brief biography detailing your educational qualifications and

professional experience

3. Two letters of recommendation

4. An application cover sheet which can be filled out online at this address:

http://www.neh.gov/online/education/participants/

If you have additional questions about the scope or format of the Institute please
contact Tim Turner at

tt@thehistorymakers.com

or via phone at 312-674-1900.

Office email address: info@thehistorymakers.com

Office phone number: (312) 674-1900

We look forward to hearing from you and greeting you July 4, 2010 for an
exciting intellectual adventure.

NEH SUMMER SEMINARS & INSTITUTES FOR SCHOOL TEACHERS

APPLICATION INFORMATION AND INSTRUCTIONS

Summer Seminars and Institutes for School Teachers are offered by the National
Endowment for the Humanities to provide teachers an opportunity for substantive

study of significant humanities ideas and texts. These study opportunities are
especially designed for this program and are not intended to duplicate courses

normally offered by graduate programs. On completion of a seminar or institute,

participants will receive a certificate indicating their participation. Prior to
completing an application, please review the letter/prospectus from the project

director (available on the project's website, or as an attachment) and consider
carefully what is expected in terms of residence and attendance, reading and writing

requirements, and general participation in the work of the project.

A seminar for school teachers enables 16 participants to explore a topic or set of
readings with a scholar having special interest and expertise in the field. The core

material of the seminar need not relate directly to the school curriculum; the
principal goal of the seminar is to engage teachers in the scholarly enterprise and to

expand and deepen their understanding of the humanities through reading,
discussion, writing, and reflection. An institute for school teachers, typically led by

a team of core faculty and visiting scholars, is designed to present the best available
scholarship on important humanities issues and works taught in the nation's

schools. The 25 to 30 participants compare and synthesize the various perspectives
offered by the faculty, make connections between the institute content and

classroom applications, and often develop improved teaching materials for their
classrooms. Please note: The use of the words "seminar" or "institute" in this

document is precise and is intended to convey differences between the two project
types.

ELIGIBILITY

These projects are designed for full-time teachers including home-schooling

parents, but other K-12 school personnel, such as librarians and administrators,
may also be eligible to apply, depending on the specific seminar or institute.

Substitute teachers or part-time personnel are not eligible. Applications from
teachers in public, private, and religiously affiliated schools receive equal

consideration.

New this year: Up to two seminar spaces and three institute spaces are available for
current full-time graduate students who intend to pursue careers in K-12 teaching.

Teachers at schools in the United States or its territorial possessions or Americans

teaching in foreign schools where at least 50 percent of the students are American
nationals are eligible for this program. Applicants must be United States citizens,

residents of U.S. jurisdictions, or foreign nationals who have been residing in the
United States or its territories for at least the three years immediately preceding the

application deadline. Foreign nationals teaching abroad at non-U.S. chartered
institutions are not eligible to apply.

Applicants must complete the NEH application cover sheet and provide all the

information requested below to be considered eligible. Individuals may not apply to
study with a director of a seminar or institute who is a current colleague or a family

member. Individuals must not apply to seminars directed by scholars with whom
they have previously studied. Institute selection committees are advised that only

under the most compelling and exceptional circumstances may an individual
participate in an institute with a director or a lead faculty member who has

previously guided that individual's research or in whose previous institute or
seminar he or she has participated.

New this year: An individual may apply to up to three projects in any one year

(seminars, institutes or Landmarks workshops), but may participate in only one.
Please note that eligibility criteria differ significantly between the Seminars and

Institutes and the Landmarks Workshops Programs.

SELECTION CRITERIA

A selection committee reads and evaluates all properly completed applications in
order to select the most promising applicants and to identify a number of alternates.

(Seminar selection committees typically consist of the seminar director, a school
teacher who is usually a participant in a previous NEH seminar, and a colleague of

the director. Institute selection committees typically consist of three to five
members, usually all drawn from the institute faculty and staff members.) While

recent participants are eligible to apply, project selection committees are directed to
give first consideration to applicants who have not participated in an NEH-

supported seminar, institute or Landmarks workshop in the last three years
(2007, 2008, 2009).

The most important consideration in the selection of participants is the likelihood

that an applicant will benefit professionally and personally. This is determined by
committee members from the conjunction of several factors, each of which should

be addressed in the application essay. These factors include:

1. effectiveness and commitment as a teacher/educator;

2. intellectual interests, both generally and as they relate to the work of the

project;

3. special perspectives, skills, or experiences that would contribute to the

seminar or institute;

4. commitment to participate fully in the formal and informal collegial life of

the project; and

5. the likelihood that the experience will enhance the applicant's teaching.

When choices must be made among equally qualified candidates, several additional
factors are considered. Preference is given to applicants who have not

previously participated in an NEH seminar, institute, or Landmarks workshop,
or who significantly contribute to the diversity of the seminar or institute.

STIPEND, TENURE, AND CONDITIONS OF AWARD

Teachers selected to participate in six-week long projects will receive a stipend of

$4,500; those in five-week projects will receive $3,900; those in four-week projects
will receive $3,300; those in three-week projects will receive $2,700; and those in

two-week projects will receive $2,100. Stipends are intended to help cover travel
expenses to and from the project location, books and other research expenses, and

living expenses for the duration of the period spent in residence. Stipends are
taxable. Applicants to all projects, especially those held abroad, should note

that supplements will not be given in cases where the stipend is insufficient to
cover all expenses.

Seminar and institute participants are required to attend all meetings and to engage

fully in the work of the project. During the project's tenure, they may not undertake
teaching assignments or any other professional activities unrelated to their

participation in the project. Participants who, for any reason, do not complete the
full tenure of the project must refund a pro-rata portion of the stipend.

At the end of the project's residential period, participants will be asked to submit
online evaluations in which they review their work during the summer and assess

its value to their personal and professional development. It is important to note
that only the programming content of the Institute will be evaluated. These

evaluations will become part of the project's grant file and may become part of an
application to repeat the seminar or institute.

APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONS

These general application instructions from the NEH should be accompanied by a

"Dear Colleague Letter" from the project director that contains detailed information
about the topic under study; project requirements and expectations of the

participants; the academic and institutional setting; and specific provisions for
lodging, subsistence, and extracurricular activities. If you do not have such a

letter/prospectus, please request one from the director of the project(s) in which
you are interested before you attempt to complete and submit an application. In

many cases, directors have websites for their projects and the "Dear Colleague"
letter may be downloaded. All application materials must be sent to the project

director at the address listed on the program poster. Application materials
sent to the Endowment will not be reviewed.

CHECKLIST OF APPLICATION MATERIALS

A completed application consists of three copies of the following collated items:

the completed application cover sheet,

a rsum, or brief biography, and

an application essay as outlined below.

In addition, it must include two letters of recommendation as described below.

The application cover sheet

The application cover sheet must be filled out online at this address:

<http://www.neh.gov/online/education/participants/>

Please fill it out online as directed by the prompts. When you are finished, be sure

to click the "submit" button. Print out the cover sheet and add it to your
application package. At this point you will be asked if you want to fill out a cover

sheet for another project. If you do, follow the prompts and select another project
and then print out the cover sheet for that project as well. Note that filling out a

cover sheet is not the same as applying, so there is no penalty for changing your
mind and filling out a cover sheet for several projects. A full application consists of

the items listed above, as sent to the project director.

Rsum

Please include a rsum or brief biography detailing your educational qualifications

and professional experience.

The Application Essay

The application essay should be no more than four double-spaced pages. It should

address reasons for applying; the applicant's interest, both academic and personal,
in the subject to be studied; qualifications and experiences that equip the applicant

to do the work of the seminar or institute and to make a contribution to a learning
community; a statement of what the applicant wants to accomplish by participating;

and the relation of the project to the applicant's professional responsibilities.

Reference Letters

The two referees may be from inside or outside the applicant's home institution.

They should be familiar with the applicant's professional accomplishments or
promise, teaching and/or research interests, and ability to contribute to and benefit

from participation in the seminar or institute. Referees should be provided with the
director's description of the seminar or institute and the applicant's essay.

Applicants who are current graduate students should secure a letter from a
professor or advisor. Please ask each of your referees to sign their name across the

seal on the back of the envelope containing their letter, and enclose the letters with
your application.

SUBMISSION OF APPLICATIONS AND NOTIFICATION PROCEDURE

Completed applications should be submitted to the project director and should be

postmarked no later than March 2, 2010.

Successful applicants will be notified of their selection on April 1, 2010, and they will
have until April 10 to accept or decline the offer. Applicants who will not be home
during the notification period should provide an address and phone number where they
can be reached. No information concerning the status of an application will be available
prior to the official notification period.