NEH Grants Support 16 Faculty Humanities Workshops Across U.S.

Seven that focus on American history and culture designated as We the People projects

Recent grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) are bringing teachers at all levels together with scholars and primary source materials for intensive workshops designed to deepen participants' understanding of significant humanities topics. With the first grants awarded in a new NEH program, 16 local and regional "Faculty Humanities Workshops" will be offered during the current academic year and this summer to provide professional development for K-12 teachers and faculty at post-secondary institutions. Seven of these have been named We the People projects, a special recognition by the NEH for model projects that advance the study, teaching, and understanding of American history and culture.

"Teachers who participate in these workshops will deepen their knowledge of the humanities through the collaborative study of significant topics, texts, and issues," said NEH Chairman Bruce Cole. "With their experiences at these workshops, teachers will return to their classrooms with greater command of their subjects and new tools and techniques for engaging their students."

New workshops designated as We the People projects include one developed by the University of Maryland, College Park, that will enable 15 middle and high school Latin teachers from the Washington, D.C., area to study the impact of the classical tradition in the United States. In a workshop designed by the Community College Humanities Association of Newark, N.J., 12 community college faculty will conduct a research program at the Library of Congress to study the development of American cities and the American urban experience. In another workshop developed by the Chicago Metro History Education Center, 16 Chicago-area elementary and secondary teachers will explore significant debates in American immigration history over the past 200 years. A complete list of the new Faculty Humanities Workshops is available in the above box.

In considering 84 proposals submitted for Faculty Humanities Workshops, NEH looked for projects that would:

• extend and deepen knowledge of the humanities by fostering collaborative study of significant topics, texts, and issues;
• provide faculty with the opportunity to engage in rigorous intellectual inquiry, including reading, reflection, and discussion;
• involve scholars from outside the institution(s) who are experts in the topic of the workshop;
• use creative formats and programs to engage faculty members; and
• advance the study and teaching of the humanities at the participating institution(s).

NEH grants are awarded on a competitive basis. Throughout the year, humanities experts outside of the Endowment and members of the National Council on the Humanities consider all applications and advise NEH on the quality and significance of each proposed project.