Institutes & Workshops

Teacher Institutes and Workshops designed to enhance the way you teach the Civil War to your students.

2024 Summer Teacher Institute

The American Civil War Museum is hosting a one-week summer institute from July 15 – 19, 2024. The institute is for K-12 educators and includes discussions with leading scholars, field trips, and workshop sessions focusing on the techniques and strategies you can use in your classroom.

The Road to War

Abraham Lincoln’s Election in November 1860 prompted the states in the deep South to secede and create a new country, but Lincoln and many Americans saw the Union as inseparable. African Americans saw the coming war as an opportunity for freedom. Join the staff of the American Civil War Museum and guest lecturers as we explore the “Road to War,” examining the time between Lincoln’s Election and his inauguration, secession, and what the coming of the Civil War meant for individuals, especially enslaved African Americans.

APPLICATIONS WILL BE ACCEPTED THROUGH APRIL 29. ALL APPLICANTS WILL BE INFORMED BY MAY 15 OF THEIR SELECTION.

WHAT TO EXPECT?

This week of lectures, discussions, tours, and workshop sessions is designed to equip teachers with tools and strategies needed for teaching the American Civil War. Hear from noted scholars and museum staff, experience the ACWMs resources, including the White House of the Confederacy, a walking tour of antebellum Richmond, the Virginia State Capitol, and a daylong fieldtrip to Manassas National Battlefield Park. Earn a certificate for 31 hours, which can be used to gain recertification points.

This weeklong institute is free, and lunch is provided each day. 

Travel/lodging scholarships are available to help offset a portion of the costs. Funds will be provided only after fully completing the Institute.

Email khancock@acwm.org to request a scholarship application.

FEATURED SCHOLARS

Cassandra Newby-Alexander, Ph.D. is Professor of History and Endowed Professor of Virginia Black History and Culture at Norfolk State University. Newby-Alexander has co-authored several books including Black America Series: Portsmouth and her latest Remembering School Desegregation in Hampton Roads, Virginia in 2009. She has won multiple honors and was chosen by American Legacy magazine in 2005 as one of the nation’s top teachers in African American history at a Historically Black College or University.

Jonathan W. White, Ph.D., is professor of American Studies at Christopher Newport University and is the author or editor of 13 books. His most recent scholarly work, A House Built By Slaves: African American Visitors to the Lincoln White House (2022), was the winner of the 2023 Gilder Lehrman Lincoln Prize. White, also, has a children’s book,My Day with Abe Lincoln, which will be available April 2024.

John M. Coski Ph.D., is the former historian of the American Civil War Museum in Richmond, Virginia, and the author of several books, most notably The Confederate Battle Flag: America’s Most Embattled Emblem (Harvard University Press, 2005), and more than 125 essays, articles, and reviews.  A leading authority on the history of the Confederate flag, he has lectured widely on Civil War topics and participated in many academic conferences and community discussions about Confederate symbols and controversies.

Who Should Apply?

Elementary, middle, and high school educators seeking to broaden their knowledge of the American Civil War are invited to apply.  The Museum seeks participants from diverse grade levels and school settings with diverse personal and professional interests.

APPLICATIONS WILL BE ACCEPTED THROUGH APRIL 29. ALL APPLICANTS WILL BE INFORMED BY MAY 15 OF THEIR SELECTION.

QUESTIONS?
CONTACT KELLY HANCOCK, DIRECTOR OF PROGRAMS AT 
KHANCOCK@ACWM.ORG.