Past Programs

This hands-on workshop is designed for middle and high school STEM teachers who want practical, ethical ways to use generative AI in teaching and learning.

Read full program details for Generative AI for Secondary STEM Classrooms

A free program for secondary English and Social Studies teachers

This hands-on workshop is designed specifically for middle and high school English and History/Social Studies teachers looking to harness the power of generative AI to enhance teaching and learning while mitigating its potential negative impacts on student learning. Through interactive sessions led by experienced educators, participants will explore the fundamentals of AI, its practical applications in the classroom, and strategies for addressing its ethical implications. Whether you're new to AI or already experimenting with its use, this workshop will provide actionable insights and tools to support diverse learners, foster creativity, and promote critical thinking.

Key Highlights:

• Gain a clear understanding of how generative AI works and its role in education.
• Learn how AI tools can support the design of culturally responsive, differentiated instruction.
• Discover practical applications for increasing student engagement and supporting diverse learners.
• Explore innovative ways to integrate AI into learning activities and creative projects while addressing ethical concerns.
• Develop strategies to minimize the potential negative impact of AI on student learning and academic integrity.

A certificate of attendance will be provided to each participant who attends the full program (10:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.)

Agenda:

• 9:30: Registration Opens
• 10:00-10:15: Welcome & Introductions Natasha Heny & Natsuko Rohde (Center for the Liberal Arts)
• 10:15-10:55: Explore how generative AI functions, its potential applications for teaching and learning, and the challenges it presents in the classroom. "Demystifying Generative AI: How it Works and Its Role in Education" - Paul Torrey
• 10:55-11:35: Learn how to use AI tools to create differentiated, culturally responsive instruction and enhance curriculum planning. "AI-Enhanced Instructional Design" - Natasha Heny
• 11:35-11:40: Break
• 11:40-12:20: Explore practical ways to use AI tools to foster student engagement, enhance critical thinking, and promote deep learning for diverse learners. "Leveraging AI in the Classroom to Support learning" - Alecia Blackwood
• 12:20-1:20: Lunch
• 1:20-2:00: Discover innovative ways to enhance learning through the integration of AI into writing assignments, creative projects, and classroom activities. "Teaching with AI: Creative Applications and Ethical Considerations of AI in the Humanities Classroom" - Dana Little
• 2:00-2:10: Break
• 2:10-3:00: "Addressing AI’s Impact on Student Assessment and Academic Integrity" - Panel Discussion: Blackwood, Heny, Little, Torrey - Discuss how to navigate challenges posed by AI in student learning and the evaluation of learning while promoting academic integrity.

Date: March 15, 2025, 10:00 a.m. - 3 p.m.

Instructors / Presenters: Natasha Heny, Assoc. Professor of Education, UVA; Paul Torrey, Asst. Professor of Astronomy, UVA; Dana Little, Asst. Professor of English, Writing and Rhetoric Program, UVA; Alecia Blackwood, Asst. Professor of Education, Longwood University

Location: UVA Student Health and Wellness, 550 Brandon Avenue, Charlottesville, VA 22908

Sponsors: the Arthur Vining Davis Foundations, the U.S. National Science Foundation, and the University of Virginia Center for Liberal Arts.

This free workshop, offered by Lisa Reilly, Commonwealth Professor of Architectural History at UVA and Harrison Cash of the School of Education and Human Development, explores how Roman architecture expressed the power, values, and innovations of the ancient world. Focusing on key monuments such as the Colosseum, the Pantheon, and the Pont du Gard, participants will examine how Roman design and engineering served both practical needs and political purposes. The session highlights how architecture reflected larger historical concepts—empire, technology, and civic identity—and considers ways these ideas can enrich classroom discussions of the ancient world. By connecting artistic achievement with social and political context, the workshop offers teachers new strategies for helping students understand how built environments shape and reflect human societies. Harrison Cash will discuss relevant SOLS and classroom applications. There will be plenty of time for questions and discussion.

Date: February 28, 2026, 10:00 a.m. on Zoom

Sponsors: The Center for Liberal Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities

Thomas Jefferson's Monticello Plantation: How can archaeology help advance our understanding of a slave society?

Free professional development program for K-12 teachers

Our workshop will focus on the material evidence for community life, particularly of the enslaved community at Monticello. 

Our day will begin with a full tour of the main house, including the dome room. The remainder of the morning will be spent with members of the Archaeology team at Monticello visiting excavation sites normally closed to the public. These sites offer insight into the changing organization of life and work for the plantation’s enslaved community. 

After lunch, we will participate in a hands- on workshop with the archaeology team which features analysis of original ceramic finds from Monticello and instruction in use of the publicly accessible Digital Archaeological Archive of Comparative Slavery (http://www.daacs.org), a rich resource for teaching the history of enslaved peoples throughout the Chesapeake, Carolinas and Caribbean. At the end of our day together, participants will have a fuller understanding of the complex nature of community life at Monticello, particularly of the enslaved community, together with a working knowledge of how to use a renowned digital tool for primary research in their classroom.

Agenda:

• 8:00 - 8:30 Registration and coffee at Woodland Pavilion, Monticello, Welcome by Lisa Reilly, Professor of Architectural History, UVA
• 8:40 First Group Leaves for House Tour
• 8:45 Second Group Leaves for House Tour
• 10:30 - 12:30 Landscape and Settlement Dynamics at Monticello Plantation: An Archaeological Perspective. A two-hour walking tour and seminar with Director of Archaeology Fraser Neiman on recent archaeological research devoted to the vanished plantation landscape and the lives of enslaved people who helped create it.
• 12:30 - 1:15 Lunch provided at Woodland Pavilion
• 1:15 - 4:15 Introduction to Artifacts and Archaeological Data Analysis. A hands-on workshop with Dr. Elizabeth Bollwerk and colleagues from the Monticello and DAACS archaeology teams.

Date: April 4, 2020, 8:00 a.m.

Location: Woodland Pavilion, Monticello, 931 Thomas Jefferson Parkway, Charlottesville, VA 22902.

Sponsors: The Center for the Liberal Arts at the University of Virginia and the National Endowment for the Humanities

Our workshop will focus on the material evidence for community life, particularly of the enslaved community at Monticello. Our day will begin with a full tour of the main house, including the dome room and family quarters upstairs. These provide an opportunity for a critical look at how Monticello functioned as a home and work place for Jefferson’s family and other members of the community. The remainder of the morning will be spent with members of the Archaeology team at Monticello visiting excavation sites normally closed to the public. These sites offer insight into the changing organization of life and work for the plantation’s enslaved community. After lunch, we will participate in a hands- on workshop with the archaeology team which features analysis of original ceramic finds from Monticello and instruction in use of the publicly accessible Digital Archaeological Archive of Comparative Slavery (http://www.daacs.org) , a rich resource for teaching the history of enslaved peoples throughout the Chesapeake, Carolinas and Caribbean. At the end of our day together, participants will have a fuller understanding of the complex nature of community life at Monticello, particularly of the enslaved community, together with a working knowledge of how to use a renowned digital tool for primary research in their classroom.

July 17th

• NEH Architecture Visual Eye Presentation
• Education Gallery - Session 1
• Enslaved Community Gallery - Session 1
• Family Structure Gallery - Session 1
• Gender Gallery - Session 1
• Landscape Museum Project

July 24th

• Architecture Gallery - Session 2
• Enslaved Community
• Family Week 2
• Gender at Jefferson's Monticello
• Landscape Gallery - Session 2

Date: July 17 & 24, 2016, 5:00 a.m.

Instructor / Presenter: Lisa Reilly, Associate Professor, UVA School of Architecture.

Location: Monticello

Sponsors: The National Endowment for the Humanities

FREE Workshop for K-12 Teacher

The workshop is an introduction to current issues and inquiry in the evidential and interpretative discipline of archaeology, including its role in reading, reconstructing, representing the past; key methods and approaches guiding archaeological interpretation; archaeology as a means for engaging with broader motifs of human civilization, such as the emergence and collapse of urbanism, social complexity, government and organized religion; the relevance of the past to the contemporary, everyday present and the key role of archaeology in identity formation in today's society. Participants will receive a certificate indicating more than four hours of professional development. Among the topics for the final session will be ways of addressing the relevant sections in the World History Standards of Learning.

Agenda:

• 9:00 - 9:30 Registration (coffee and tea provided) 
• 9:30 - 9:45 Welcome and introductions; Anastasia Dakouri-Hild, Lecturer, Aegean and Near Eastern Archaeology 
• 9:45 - 10:45 Roman coins, Roman history, and succession to power: UVa digital images and your classes; John Dobbins, Professor, Classical Archaeology 
• 10:45 - 11:00 Break 
• 11:00 - 12:00 Archaeology and complexity: the emergence and collapse of ancient civilizations; Phil Trella, anthropologist who specializes in the archaeology of the ancient Near East, Asst. Vice President for Graduate Studies 
• 12:00 - 12:45 Lunch (provided) 
• 12:45 - 1:45 Does it matter? Antiquity and the politics of the past today; Anastasia Dakouri-Hild, Lecturer, Aegean and Near Eastern Archaeology 
• 1:45 - 2:00 Break 
• 2:00 - 3:00 Pedagogy Session; Stephanie Van Hover, Associate Professor, Department Chair of Curriculum, Instruction and Special Education, Curry School of Education

Date: March 14, 2015, 9:00 a.m.

Location: University of Virginia

Sponsors: The Archaeological Institute of America, The Buckner W. Clay Endowment for the Humanities, The Center for Liberal Arts and The Miller Center

Agenda:

• 8:00 - 8:30 Registration and refreshments
• 8:30 - 9:00 Introductions and Opening Remarks - Lisa Reilly, Professor or Architectural History; Bonnie Hagerman,  Associate Director of CLA
• 9:00 - 10:00 "Humanism and Politics in Machiavelli's Florence" by Duane Osheim - Professor of History UVA. I will discuss the humanist view of morality and public life as a context for understanding Machiavelli's withering critique of official morality. I will begin with Francesco Petrarca and the ideas of humanistic liberal education and discuss briefly the Florentine civic humanists and then offer some suggestions for how we can best understand Machiavelli.
• 10:00 - 10:15 Break
• 10:15 - 11:00 "The World of Dante" http://www.worldofdante.org by Deborah Parker - Professor Spanish, Italian and Portuguese, UVA. A multi-media research tool intended to facilitate the study of the Divine Comedy through a wide range of offerings. Theseinclude an encoded Italian text which allows for structured searches and analyses, an English translation, interactive maps, diagrams, music, a database, timeline and gallery of illustrations.
• 11:00 - 11:15 Break
• 11:15 - 12:15 "Revival and Reinvention: The Rebirth of the Portrait in Renaissance Italy" by Shelley Zuraw, Associate Professor of Art, University of Georgia. Using key example of portraiture in bronze, marble and paint, we will consider the birth of the portrait in the Renaissance, concentrating on the period from ca. 1420-1520. Besides discussing style (or appearance), these portraits will also be the means by which we can address both the public and private life of the individual in the Renaissance.
• 12:15 - 1:15 Lunch
• 1:15 - 1:45 "How to incorporate this material into high school teaching" by Mike Evans, Charlottesville High School
• 1:45 - 2:30 Panel Discussions

Date: September 17, 2011, 8:00 a.m.

Location: Zehmer Hall, University of Virginia

Sponsors: The Center for the Liberal Arts and the Arthur Vining Davis Foundations

Stories of antiquity often spotlight the spectacular leaders and events of the classical past, from the monuments and tombs of the Egyptian pharaohs and Mesopotamian kings to the heights of Periclean Athens and the imperial exploits of the Caesars. Yet the concerns and livelihoods of most people in antiquity did not revolve around famous battles and royal intrigue. This one-day program at Howard University explores the world of ordinary men and women who made up the fabric of ancient civilization around the Mediterranean. 

Daily Life in the Ancient Mediterranean full description

Details coming soon...

This program is sponsored by the Arthur Vining Davis Foundations

This event will be hosted on November 1, 2025, 10:00 am, at Howard University.

As K-12 teachers and students grapple with issues of race and justice in history and society, there is value in bringing in perspectives that arise from two areas of contemporary classical studies. On the one hand, there is the place of Africa in the Greco-Roman imaginary, and how regions like Egypt and Ethiopia are involved in ancient constructions of the Other. At the same time, much exciting work is being done on the varied reception of Greek and Roman literature in African American literature and art, ranging from colonial times to today. This workshop will explore these topics via test cases in artistic and historical reflections on Africa, African-American Culture, and the Classics.

The program will include four 30-minute talks, each followed by general discussion, with an opening gathering and breaks, and lunch together. Presenters will include UVA faculty members along with faculty from Howard University and the College of William and Mary.

There will be two funded opportunities for teachers to develop teaching resources to be shared with all participants as a follow-up to the workshop.

Agenda:

• 9:00 – 9:45: Coffee and Registration
• 9:45 – 10:45: ‘What does a (Neo-)Classical Poet Look Like? Race and Recognition in the Life and Works of Phillis Wheatley’ - Inger Kuin
• 10:45 – 11:00: Break
• 11:00 – 12:00: College of William and Mary - ‘Africa and the Ancient Mediterranean World: Re-examining the Scholarly Contributions of 20th Century Black Intellectuals’ - Najee Olya
• 12:00 – 1:00: Lunch 
• 1:00 – 2:00: ‘Classical Myth in the Poetry of Rita Dove’ - John Miller
• 2:00 – 2:15: Break
• 2:15 – 3:15: ‘Refashioning the Classical Heroine in the Poetry of H. Cordelia Ray’ - Caroline Stark

Current public discourse in the US and abroad is full of talk about threats to democracy; some even speak of the twilight of democracy right now in the West. Our in-person workshop offers exploration of this important contemporary issue from the vantage point of classical antiquity, where democracy first emerged. We aim to open up perspectives for discussing democracy and related subjects in the classroom. Topics will range from the role of rhetoric and oratory in a democracy, to Black writers in dialogue with the ancients on the question of freedom, to grappling with demagogues and populism, to the idea of taking care of government, and of one another, in a democracy.

The program will include four 30-minute talks, each followed by general discussion, with an opening gathering and breaks, and lunch together. Presenters will include UVA faculty members along with faculty from Howard University and Arizona State University, partner institutions in our ongoing Classics Project for K–12 teachers.

Agenda

• 9:00 – 9:45: Coffee and Registration
• 9:45 – 10:45: Jacqueline Arthur-Montagne, Assistant Professor of Classics, University of Virginia: ‘Free Speech? The Tools of Ancient Rhetoric in Troubled Democratic Times’

The art of classical oratory can be traced as far back as the Greek epics of Homer when heroes like Achilles and Odysseus delivered persuasive speeches to their peers. But the canonical orators of the classical tradition, such as Demosthenes and Cicero, honed their skills of public speaking in moments of democratic peril, when the autonomy of their citizen audiences hung in the balance. This presentation analyzes how the troubled democratic times of ancient Greece and Rome have shaped rhetorical training to the present, and how these techniques of public speaking persisted as powerful tools of self-determination long after the erosion of democratic institutions and norms in the classical past.

• 10:45 – 11:00: Break
• 11:00 – 12:00: Norman B. Sandridge, Associate Professor of Political Science, Howard University: ‘Government by the Caring: A Comparison of Ancient and Modern Conceptions of Democracy vis-a-vis Care for Others’

A democracy is typically understood as a political condition in which the people (demos) have power or supremacy (kratos) over some other subset of people, e.g., aristocrats or a king. Yet in his recent memoir of the January 6 insurrection, Unthinkable: Trauma, Truth, and the Trials of American Democracy (2022), Congressman Jamie Raskin (MD-8) describes a democracy aspirationally as ‘that form of government that we all take care of together.’ For Raskin this ‘care’ is emotional, intellectual, and practical: citizens of a democracy should care about each other and for each other. In this talk we explore ancient conceptions of democracy in writers such as Herodotus, Thucydides, Isocrates, and Polybius, to try to understand how much this notion of care was present.

• 12:00 – 1:00: Lunch
• 1:00 – 2:00: Matt Simonton, Associate Professor of Ancient History, Arizona State University: ‘The Demagogic Danger to Democracy: What the Ancient Greeks Can and Can’t Teach Us about Populism’

As with so much of our political terminology, the ancient Greeks bequeathed us the word ‘demagogue.’ They recognized the danger posed to democratic societies when political leaders demonize members of the community, pander to the lowest common denominator, and engage in short-term gratification. But were the causes of their demagoguery the same as ours? And were their proposed solutions compatible with our own civic values?

• 2:00 – 2:15: Break
• 2:15 – 3:15: Angel Adams Parham, Associate Professor of Sociology, University of Virginia: ‘Conversations on Freedom: The Black Intellectual Tradition and Classics’ 

One of the most enduring conversations in the Western tradition concerns the question of freedom. What is its essence? What are its many dimensions? Black writers across the centuries have developed sophisticated conversation on these questions, and have often drawn on the insights of writers from classical antiquity to do so. We explore some of these conversations on freedom and consider what they have to teach us today. 

Moderator: John F. Miller, Arthur F. and Marian W. Stocker Professor of Classics, University of Virginia

Date: March 25, 2023, 9:00 a.m.

Moderator: John F. Miller, Arthur F. and Marian W. Stocker Professor of Classics, University of Virginia

Location: Zehmer Hall / UVA, 104 Midmont Ln, Charlottesville, VA.

Sponsors: The Arthur Vining Davis Foundations

Plague. Questions of Leadership. Communities in Crisis. Family Conflict. Exile. Honoring the Dead. Communal Grief. These core themes from the Theban plays feel strikingly relevant in today’s global pandemic. As recent productions of Theater of War’s Antigone in Ferguson (2016) demonstrate, these stories have the power of bringing communities together to start the healing process through the collective experience of live performance. While the story of Oedipus has been retold throughout the centuries in all kinds of artistic media all over the world, from Homer, Sophocles, and Seneca to Hegel, Stravinsky, and Rita Dove, this workshop will focus on the story of Oedipus in the African Diaspora.

Agenda:

• 8:00 - 9:00: Breakfast and Registration - Main Building
• 9:00 - 9:20: Welcome, Mark Schiefsky, Welcome and Introductions, Natsuko Rohde - UVAHouse A
• 9:20 - 10:15: “The City and the Individual in the Oedipus Cycle” - Wesley Hanson - House A
• 10:15 - 10:35: Break - House A
• 10:35 - 11:30: “Naturalizing Myth through Adaptation Processes: Oedipus Rex as Case Study” with Segun Ige - House A
• 11:30 - 12:30: Breakout Sessions - House A
• 12:30 - 1:30: Lunch - Main Building
• 1:30 - 2:25: “Lift him up: Oedipus and the Gospel at Colonus“ with Kenneth Morrell - House A
• 2:25 - 3:45: Breakout Sessions - House A & Main Building
• 3:45 - 4:00: Concluding Remarks - House A

This workshop will explore selected topics in Homer’s great epic Odyssey from global perspectives with a view to deepening study of a poem often taught to K-12 students. Topics will range from the comparative perspective offered by a Serbian epic of return parallel to the Odyssey, to notable episodes in the poem seen through a broader lens, namely the Cyclops Polyphemus against the background of one-eyed monsters in other cultures, and the enchantress Circe both in Homer’s telling and in artistic and literary receptions.

The program will include three 20-minute talks each followed by general discussion, with a brief break after each presentation, and then smaller breakout discussions to brainstorm about how to apply these perspectives to the classroom and otherwise to discuss teaching Homer’s Odyssey.

Agenda:

• 10:00 - 10:10: Introductions by John Miller
• 10:10 - 10:30: Tyler Jo Smith, “In the Eye of the Beholder: Homer's Cyclops and other One-Eyed Monsters”
• 10:30 - 10:45: Q&A session
• 10:45 - 10:50: 5-minute break
• 10:50 - 11:10: Ivana Petrovic, “The Song of Milman Parry and the Odyssey or How to use ‘The Song of Milman Parry’ in the classroom in order to explain the oral formulaic composition theory”
• 11:10 - 11:25: Q&A session
• 11:25 - 11:30: 5-minute break
• 11:30 - 11:50: John F. Miller, “Visions of Circe”
• 11:50 - 12:05: Q&A session
• 12:05 - 12:10: 5-minute break
• 12:10 - 12:50: Small Group Breakout Session
• 12:50 - 1:00: Evaluations and goodbyes

Date: November 14, 2020, 10:00 a.m.

Instructors / Presenters:

Tyler Jo Smith

Professor of Classical Art/Archaeology and Director, Interdisciplinary Archaeology Program

“In the Eye of the Beholder: Homer's Cyclops and other One-Eyed Monsters”

The confrontation between Odysseus and the Cyclops Polyphemus in Odyssey book 9 is striking in many ways. Both Greek and Roman artists capitalize on the grotesque aspects of the Cyclops' behavior as well as the clever means by which Odysseus and his men make their escape. This presentation will introduce these ancient images, consider the origins of the Cyclops as a mythological figure, and discuss the phenomenon of the one-eyed monster from myths and cultures across the globe including Ireland, India, and the Philippines.

Ivana Petrovic

Hugh H. Obear Professor and Chair of Classics

“The Song of Milman Parry and the Odyssey or How to use ‘The Song of Milman Parry’ in the classroom in order to explain the oral formulaic composition theory”

In the 1930s, Homeric scholar Milman Parry attended performances of local Yugoslav bards and recorded a large number of songs. He studied the local oral epic tradition and by analogy explained the nature of Homeric language. Parry's student, Albert Lord, further expanded and refined his teacher’s theory (hence the so-called ‘Parry-Lord Oral-Formulaic composition theory).

However, Parry’s travels through Ex-Yugoslavia also became a subject of an oral traditional song, which is available in the original Serbian and in English translation as Appendix 6 of Lord’s book The Singer of Tales. In this poem, the local bard Milovan Vojčić tells a story about Parry’s voyage from America to Yugoslavia on the ship Saturnia, meticulously charts Parry's exploration of Vojčić’s ‘heroic homeland,’ describes Parry’s desire to learn about ‘the glorious history’ from the local bards, and how in the process Parry ‘became enamored of the songs,’ the local landscape, and its history. The poem casts Parry in a role analogous to that of Odysseus and Vojčić in the role of the Homeric singer Demodocus. The poem is not directly influenced by the Odyssey, but it draws on the rich local tradition of ‘return songs’ and so represents a comparative parallel to Homer’s Odyssey.

John F. Miller

Arthur F. and Marian W. Stocker Professor of Classics

“Visions of Circe”

Odysseus on his travels famously encounters Circe, a divine enchantress who momentarily turns his men to pigs and entertains them on her island Aeaea, and Odysseus in her bed, for a year. This talk discusses Odysseus’ encounter with Circe in Homer and some later representations of the character: 1) Madeleine Miller’s recent novel Circe, a reimagining of the figure from Circe’s own point of view which expands upon her life story with appeal to other Greco-Roman myths, such as Medea, the Argonautica, Pasiphae, Scylla and Glaucus, and Telegonus, the son of Circe and Odysseus. 2) an enigmatic depiction of Circe on vases from a cult-center near Thebes, which raise the question of whether there was prejudice against skin color in classical antiquity; 3) the collage ‘Circe’ by the African-American artist Romare Bearden, which outfits the enchantress in West African dress as part of a series that refigures the Odyssey with black characters.

Location: Online - Zoom

Sponsors: The Center for the Liberal Arts and the Clay Endowment of the UVA Institute of Humanities and Global Cultures

Topics include: Homer's Iliad and Odyssey, Vergil's Aeneid, Ovid's Metamorphoses, Romare Bearden, Madeline Miller, Robert Graves, and many more!

The third annual Howard University workshop in collaboration with Harvard's Center for Hellenic Studies and the University of Virginia's Center for the Liberal Arts will discuss Homer, epic, and the reception of Homer in later literature and art. In addition to presentations by Howard and UVA faculty, we will be joined by two special guests: Gareth Hinds, graphic novelist and illustrator of Homer's Iliad and Odyssey, and Carolivia Herron, author, professor, and radio show host of Epic City.

Group discussion and breakout sessions will include how to adapt the various materials and perspectives to K–12 classrooms and will provide classroom activities. In addition to the presentations and breakout sessions in House-A, Gareth Hinds' exhibition "EPIC" will be on view in the main building at the Center for Hellenic Studies. Participants will tour the exhibit as part of the morning session and will have a chance to talk to the artist after lunch. In the breakout session, teachers will receive materials that can be incorporated into the classroom for future scheduled tours with students.

Agenda:

• 8:00 – 9:00: Breakfast & Registration - Main Building
• 9:00 - 9:30: Welcome, Allie Marbry, Center for Hellenic Studies, Welcome and Introductions, Natsuko Rohde, Center for the Liberal Arts, UVA - House A
• 9:30 - 10:30: Carolivia Herron, Howard University, “Epic Pathways: Workshop in Creating Classroom Epics for STEAM Curricula” - House A
• 10:30 - 11:00: Break - House A
• 11:00 - 12:00: John F. Miller, Arthur F. and Marian W. Stocker Professor of Classics, UVA, "Circes" - House A
• 12:00 - 12:30: View “EPIC: Illustrations of Gareth Hinds” Exhibition - Main Building
• 12:30 - 1:30: Lunch - Dining Room, Main Building
• 1:30 - 2:00: Q & A with the artist, Gareth Hinds - House A
• 2:00 - 2:45: Breakout Sessions: (alternating stations)
• 3:00 - 3:45: Carolivia Herron, "Kindergarten Blues: Teaching Homer's Iliad" - House A / Caroline Stark, Associate Professor of Classics, Howard University, "Homeric Receptions" (session 1: Latin Literature; session 2: Art) - Mosaic Room - Main Building
• 3:45 - 4:00: Concluding Remarks; Certificates - House A

Date: October 19, 2019, 5:00 a.m.

Location: Center for Hellenic Studies, 3100 Whitehaven St. NW, Washington, DC 20008.

Sponsors: Howard University in collaboration with Harvard's Center for Hellenic Studies and University of Virginia's Center for the Liberal Arts

African American Contributions to the Humanities

African American writers, scholars, scientists, artists, and politicians have greatly influenced contemporary American culture but their contributions continue to be marginalized as sub-fields in their various disciplines. In collaboration with the University of Virginia’s Center for the Liberal Arts and Harvard's Center for Hellenic Studies, this Howard University workshop will bring to the forefront these important contributions and their relationship to teaching various subjects – history and government, English, Latin and other languages and literatures, drama, and art. We will focus on the tremendous influence of African Americans in twentieth and twenty-first-century American history, scholarship, culture. Central to the program will be presentations by Howard and Harvard faculty geared towards incorporating these masterworks into the K12 curriculum.

Topics include the influences of and by African Americans such as W. E. B. Du Bois, President Barack Obama, Zora Neale Hurston, Toni Morrison, Rita Dove, James Baldwin, Richard Wright, Langston Hughes, Romare Bearden, Beauford Delaney, Jacob Lawrence, and others.

Group discussion and breakout sessions will include how to adapt the various materials and perspectives to K–12 classrooms and will provide classroom activities.In addition to the presentations and breakout sessions in House-A, Dr. Michele Ronnick's exhibit "Black Classicists" will be on view in the main building at the Center for Hellenic Studies.

As part of the afternoon session, participants will tour the exhibit and receive materials that can be incorporated into the classroom for future scheduled visits with students.

Date: October 20, 2018, 5:00 a.m.

Location: Howard University Center for Hellenic Studies, 3100 Whitehaven St. NW, Washington, DC 20008.

Sponsors: The Arthur Vining Davis Foundations

From The Founding Fathers to Rita Dove

Ancient Greece and Rome have long held the imagination of American writers, scholars, scientists, artists, and politicians from the early colonial period to contemporary times. Its influence, therefore, emerges in the teaching of various subjects - history and government, English, Latin and other languages and literatures, drama, and art. For the inaugural Classics workshop at Howard University in collaboration with UVA, this workshop will focus on the tremendous influence of Classics in American history, scholarship, and culture.

This workshop in American Receptions of Classics offers two presentations by Howard faculty, one presentation by UVA faculty, and a special presentation by Hunter R. Rawlings III, Professor of Classics and President Emeritus of Cornell University. Topics include the influence of Classics among the founding fathers, in the thought and writings of W. E. B. Du Bois, and among African American artists from Phillis Wheatley to Rita Dove. Group discussion after each talk will include how to adapt the various materials and perspectives to K–12 classrooms.In celebration of Howard University's Sesquicentennial in 2017, Dr. Michele Ronnick's exhibit "Black Classicists" will be on view at the Blackburn Gallery Lounge.

As part of the afternoon session, participants will tour the exhibit and receive materials that can be incorporated into the classroom for future scheduled visits with students.

Agenda

• 9:15 - 9:45: Registration (Coffee and pastries will be served)
• 9:45 - 10:00: Introductions
• 10:00 - 11:00: Hunter R. Rawlings III, Professor of Classics and President Emeritus, Cornell University, "The Lion in the Path"
• 1:00 - 11:15: Break 1
• 11:15 - 12:15: Johnson Olusegun Ige, Assistant Professor of Classics, Howard University, "Rhetoric, Reception, and Two Oratorical Icons: Cicero and W. E. B. Du Bois Compared"
• 12:15 - 1:15: Lunch
• 1:15 - 2:15: John F. Miller, Arthur F. and Marian W. Stocker Professor of Classics, UVA, "Rita Dove's Mother Love"
• 2:15 - 2:30: Break 2
• 2:30 - 3:30: Caroline Stark, Assistant Professor of Classics, Howard University, "African American Classical Reception and Scholarship"
• 3:30 - 4:00: View "Black Classicists" Exhibition

Date: November 4, 2017, 5:15 a.m.

Location: Howard University

Western Culture is fully intelligible only with a good knowledge of the myths of the ancient Greeks and Romans. Painters, poets and other writers, and newer media such as television and film have continued to adapt these classic stories through the ages. Classical myths therefore emerge in the teaching of various subjects - English, Latin and other languages and literatures, art, and even history with its own mythologizing inspired b y ancient patterns of thought. This workshop in Teaching Classical Mythology offers three presentations by UVA faculty and one by the representative of our new partner institution Howard University. Each presentation exemplifies a different approach to the mythological tradition. Group discussion after each talk with include how to adapt the various materials and perspectives to K-12 classroom.

Presentations:

• John F. Miller, Arthur F. and Marian W. Stocker Professor of Classics, UVA - 'Ovid's Metamorphoses and the Mythological Tradition in Literature and Art"
• Caroline Stark, Assistant Professor of Classics, Howard University - 'Classical Mythmaking in African American Literature'
• Ivana Petrovic, Hugh H. Obear Professor of Classics, UVA - 'Demeter: Myth and Cult'
• Tyler Jo Smith, Associate Professor of Classical Art and Archaeology and Director of the Interdisciplinary Program in Archaeology, UVA - 'God, Hero, and Image: How Greek Vases Teach Greek Myth'

Date: November 5, 2016, 5:30 a.m.

Location: Zehmer Hall, University of Virginia

Sponsors: The Center for the Liberal Arts and Arthur Vining Davis Foundations

Greek and Latin are the sources of approximately 60% of the words we use every day and a much higher percentage of the words we use when talking about literature, government, history, law, science, medicine, and many other subjects we teach. Each of these words has itself an interesting history from its original use to what we take it to mean today. We offer this workshop as an introduction to Greek and Latin and to an exploration of some of the familiar words, phrases, quotes, and abbreviations derived from them, concentrating especially on terminology of literature, government, and history. It will be an opportunity to understand better the words and terminology we use with one another and in our teaching every day.

For the Greek, we will learn the alphabet, will read aloud and together the opening lines of the Homer’s Iliad and Sophocles’ Antigone, and will look at some interesting words such as “democracy,” “metaphor,” and “pedagogy” and how they have developed over time.

For the Latin, we will talk about some common Latin and Latin-derived words, phrases, and abbreviations and their original Roman contexts, as, e.g. (“exempli gratia”), the “ambit” of ambition, Caesar as czar, the censure of the census; “carpe diem,” “veni, vidi, vici,” and many more examples.

Greek and Latin are both descendants of Proto-Indo-European (PIE), a language spoken in the late Neolithic by illiterate shepherds and farmers in the steppes of Russia, and which spawned the Germanic, Celtic, Slavic, Indian, and Iranian languages as well. PIE is the distant ancestor of English, too, and is ultimately responsible for well over 90% of our vocabulary. We will explore how linguists have reconstructed PIE and why, as English speakers, we should know about it.

The workshop will conclude with “Stump the Professors,” where the participants can offer up some of their favorite words to see if the Professors can identify their origins!

Agenda:

• 8:30 - 9:00: Registration and coffee
• 9:00 - 11:00: Greek alphabet, some Greek words (in Greek), and reading Homer's Odyssey and Sophocles' Antigone (in Greek, of course)
• 11:00 - 11:15: Coffee break
• 11:15 - 12:30: Some familiar words, phrases, and abbreviations from Latin and what they mean now and what they meant to the Romans
• 12:30 - 1:30: Lunch
• 1:30 - 2:30: Indo-European , what it is, how we know about it, and why it is important
• 2:30 - 3:15: Stump the professors. Toss out favorite words and phrases and see if professors know what they really mean.
• 3:30: caivrete, valete, and *solvôs hste !!!

Date: November 7, 2015, 3:30 a.m.

Instructors / Presenters: Coulter H. George, Associate Professor of Classics; Jon D. Mikalson, W.R. Kenan Professor of Classics; John F. Miller, Arthur F. and Marian W. Stocker Professor of Classics

Medea is one of the most complex figures in Greek mythology-helping heroine, jilted lover, barbarian, witch, dark avenger, child killer. The most influential depiction is Euripides' tragedy Medea, performed in Athens for the first time in 431 B.c. This workshop offers several different perspectives on Euripides' drama with a view to teaching it in the high school classroom. Participants will read the play in the translation by Diane Arnson Svarlien - one of the presenters at the workshop - a copy of which they will receive in advance. The workshop will also include viewing and discussion of the renowned Kennedy Center production of the Medea featuring Zoe Caldwell and Dame Judith Anderson.

Agenda:

• The Morning: 'A Day in the Greek Theater in 431 B.c.' by Jon Mikalson, 'Capturing Euripides' Medea in Translation' by Diane Arnson Svarlien, 'Medea after Euripides' by John F. Miller
• Lunch: Viewing of the Kennedy Center Production of the Medea.
• The Afternoon: Discussion of performance and of teaching the Medea , moderated by Lisa Marshall

Date: March 12, 2011 - 5:00 a.m.

Location: Zehmer Hall, University of Virginia

Explore the world making possibilities of poetry! The Furious Flower Poetry Center and the Center for the Liberal Arts will present two pedagogical resources for teachers.

Read full program details for World in Words

Earn UVA credits through these summer courses offered exclusively to Virginia Beach City Teachers.

Writing for Style and Voice- 15 seat hours; 5 Asynchronous

Feedback- 15 seat hours; 5 Asynchronous

Revision- 15 seat hours; 5 Asynchronous

Writing in Response to Nonfiction- 45 seat hours

“Writing in Response to Non-Fiction” (3 credits), taught by Prof. Heidi Nobles (class begins June 20)

“Writing for Style and Voice” (1 credit), taught by Prof. Keith Driver on July 24, 26, 28  

“Feedback” (1 credit), taught by Prof. Eric Rawson begins June 20

“Revision” (1 credit), taught by Prof. Anastatia Curley on July 31, Aug. 2, 4

For details, please contact Cameron L. Vadersen-Jacob.

Date: June 20, 2023, 9:00 a.m.

Location: The Jefferson School - African American Heritage Center, 233 4th St NW, Charlottesville, VA 22903

Free in-person workshop for teachers

This is a 100% in-person event. Breakfast and lunch will be provided.

This workshop will share new frameworks and lesson plans for teaching Vietnamese-American literature, particularly in secondary schools.

TLL provides free educational materials to support the teaching of historically underrepresented literatures in K–12 classrooms.

Instructors / Speakers:

Sylvia Chong 

Sylvia Chong is Associate Professor of English and American Studies and the Director of the Asian Pacific American Studies minor at the University of Virginia. She is the author of The Oriental Obscene: Violence and Racial Fantasies in the Vietnam Era (Duke University Press, 2012), and co-editor of the anthology (Re)Collecting the Vietnam War (a special issue of the Asian American Literary Review, Fall/Winter 2015). She has a Ph.D. in Rhetoric from UC Berkeley and an A.M. in Education from Stanford University, and has previously taught in public high schools in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Helen Min 

Helen Min is a Ph.D. candidate and Dean’s Fellow in Curriculum and Instruction at the University of Virginia School of Education and Human Development (UVA) with a research focus on evaluating trauma-sensitive pedagogy, understanding the impact of stress on teacher well-being, and assessing the extent of vicarious trauma on teachers. She taught for six years in Baltimore, MD, Osaka, Japan, and Cairo, Egypt, and received her MS. Ed. from Johns Hopkins University. 

Joseph Wei 

Joe Wei is a PhD candidate in the English Department at the University of Virginia. His research areas include Asian American literature, critical refugee studies, and poetry and poetics.

Sarah Winstein-Hibbs 

Sarah Winstein-Hibbs, PhD, is a high school English teacher at the Lehigh Valley Academy Regional Charter school, where she teaches IB courses in writing and literature. Before deciding to switch to high school education, she was an Assistant Teaching Professor of English at Penn State University, where she taught courses on The Graphic Novel, The Rhetoric of Public Memory, and freshman composition. Since 2018, she has served as Co-Director of Research and Analysis for TLL - a role in which she analyzed survey data from 1200+ teachers nationwide and made initial curricular recommendations. Her research on race and American literature has been published in scholarly journals such as American Literary History, American Quarterly, and Multi-Ethnic Literature of the US. In 2021, she received her PhD in American Literature from the University of Virginia, where she also served as Assistant to the Director of Writing. Sarah originally hails from St. Louis, MO, where she used to work as an after-school creative writing and art teacher in the St. Louis city school district.

Agenda:

• 9:30-10:00: Breakfast
• 10:00-10:45: Introduction and Overview of Vietnamese American Lit and History - Sylvia Chong
• 11:00-11:45: Teaching the Graphic Novel The Best We Could Do by Thi Bui: Pre-reading - Sarah Winstein-Hibbs and Helen Min
• 11:45-12:45: Lunch break
• 12:45-1:30 Teaching the Graphic Novel The Best We Could Do by Thi Bui: Ch. 1 - Sarah Winstein-Hibbs and Helen Min
• 1:45-2:30: Teaching Spoken Word Poetry by Bao Phi and Poetry by Ocean Vuong - Joseph Wei
• 2:45-3:00: Resources for Teaching Vietnamese American Lit. in K-8 - Sylvia Chong
• 3:00-3:45: Breakout to small groups:  
  • Winstein-Hibbs: Teaching Graphic Novels 
  • Min: Trauma-Sensitive Approaches to Teaching Refugee Literature  
  • Wei: Teaching Poetry and Spoken Word 
  • Chong: Integrating Complex Histories into ELA Classrooms
• 3:45-4:00: Evaluation/Closing Remarks 

Date: February 25, 2023, 9:30 a.m.

Location: The Jefferson School - African American Heritage Center, 233 4th St NW, Charlottesville, VA 22903

A Free Workshop for 9-12 teachers in all subject areas

Led by Professor Natasha Heny of the Curry School of Education and Human Services, with Professors Marcus Meade, Sarah O'Brien, and Kelli Shermeyer of the UVA Writing and Rhetoric program, and Ashley Hosbach, UVA's Education & Social Science Research Librarian.

• Registered participants will receive Zoom link.
• Each participating teacher will receive a $15 gift card from Pearl Island Catering/Café, Charlottesville.
• Space will be limited so that we can use a workshop format.

Topics to be covered:

• options for on-line feedback (including writing conferences)
• how to give good feedback
• innovative writing assignments
• including writing-to-learn activities in an online class
• collaborative writing among students
• assessment (when and what to assess)
• video and other technological resources
• online resources for writing instruction

Date: May 2, 2020, 10:00 a.m.

Location: Online - Zoom

Sponsors: The Center for the Liberal Arts and the Central Virginia Writing Project, with funding from the Arthur Vining Davis Foundations

An Institute for 9-11 Teachers

Natasha Heny, Curry School of Education, UVA, will teach this 8-day summer institute. The institute will focus on supporting and empowering teachers, and developing their knowledge and skills in writing and writing instruction. The institute is sponsored by Arthur Vining Davis Foundations, and we hope to enroll one teacher each from 9th, 10th and 11th grade, from each RPS High School. We are so excited to get to work with RPS again this summer

Date: July 29, 2019

Sponsor: The Arthur Vining Davis Foundations

Central Virginia Writing Project (CVWP)

Empowering Teacher-Leaders as Writers and Writing Instructors

The Center for the Liberal Arts in partnership with the Curry School of Education at the University of Virginia is pleased to invite Central Virginia K-12 teachers from all disciplinary backgrounds to apply for the 2016 Summer Writing Invitational Institute, under the auspices of the Central Virginia Writing Project (CVWP) in collaboration with the National Writing Project. The goal of the Institute is to support and empower teacher-leaders as change agents within their classrooms, schools, and school divisions by developing their knowledge and skills in writing and writing instruction, giving them a forum to take risks as educators, to test out ideas, and to get feedback from knowledgeable professionals. Additionally, national research studies confirm significant gains in writing performance among students of teachers who have participated in National Writing Project programs. More specifically and in response to local school divisions’ increased focus on digital writing and overall digital literacy, teachers will reimagine writing with a culturally diverse lens in order to strengthen their students’ voices and writing skills needed to successfully navigate an information-saturated and technology-rich 21st century. Exploring ways to use writing as a tool not only to learn content but also to understand differing cultures across the curriculum will serve as a guiding theme throughout the two-week program. In addition to developing teachers’ disciplinary areas of expertise through writing, an important objective of the Institute will be to develop the teachers’ capacity to offer professional development for others within their schools and/or school divisions. The Institute will be facilitated by Dr. Natasha Heny, Assistant Professor of English Education at UVA, and Ms. Lisa Harman, an elementary school teacher in Albemarle County Public Schools and previous Institute participant and site co-director. During Fall 2016, teachers will participate in continuity work groups comprised of their Institute peers geared toward supporting teachers’ implementation of their newfound writing knowledge and skills in the nuanced contexts of their classrooms and student demographics. These study groups will be facilitated by two writing instructors from the Department of English in the College of Arts and Sciences at UVA for approximately 18 hours of program follow-up support.

How do I apply?

• Application Letter - Write a one-page (450 words or less) letter describing what your students do as writers on a typical day, what you do as their teacher, and why you would like to attend the Summer Writing Invitational Institute. Please also include the following contact information: name, address, phone number, email address (that you check regularly and during the summer), school name, school division, grade(s) and subject(s) taught. 
• Letter of Reference - The letter of reference should be written by either your principal or instructional administrator at the school division level. The letter should address the following questions: What are the strengths of the applicant as a classroom teacher? How do you see the applicant as a teacher-leader in your school/school division? How will you support this teacher in taking on a leadership role for writing instruction in your school/school division? How do you think this teacher will contribute to the Central Virginia Writing Project (CVWP) professional learning and writing community? 
• Application Deadline: May 31, 2016 - If you have any questions, please contact Becky Abell Yancey at 434-982-5205 or rla@virginia.edu. Letters of acceptance will be sent no later than June 15, 2016.

Who should apply?

We are looking for experienced (at least 3 years of classroom teaching experience) and effective teachers who desire to grow as writers and as teachers of writing across the curriculum. A commitment to participate in the entire two weeks of the Summer Writing Invitational Institute and 18 hours of the Fall 2016 continuity work is also required, as is a collaborative spirit in sharing ideas and learning from others as well as a willingness to provide professional development for colleagues at the request of school division administrators.

How much does it cost?

There is no cost to teachers to participate in the two-week Summer Writing Invitational Institute and 18 hours of Fall 2016 continuity work, thanks to a National Writing Project grant and in-kind contributions from the Center for the Liberal Arts and the Curry School of Education at UVA. Limited travel scholarships are available to assist teachers who are traveling from remote geographical locations in Central Virginia. Please send inquires to Becky Abell Yancey, CLA Program Coordinator, at 434-982-5205 or rla@virginia.edu.

Date: July 11, 2016, 8:45 a.m.

Location: Ruffner Hall, University of Virginia

UVA's Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library and American Shakespeare Center

The UVA portion of the program will center on this year's exhibition in the Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library, "Shakespeare by the Book," and the way it might be used to enhance students’ appreciation of Shakespeare. This exhibit uses items from UVA's Special Collections to the Shakespeare text through four centuries of printing, editing, and publishing; for the month of October, it will be enhanced by a visiting exhibit of a First Folio from the Folger Library. The UVA exhibit has three parts. The first shows how books, including the quartos and folio versions of Shakespeare's plays, were produced in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. The second follows the editorial history of Shakespeare's text since the 18th century, when the wildly varying versions of the plays prompted competing theories about their reliability and provenance. The third section, Shakespeare for All, shows how Shakespeare has been popularized for many different audiences, including actors, students, bibliophiles, and children. 

The American Shakespeare Center (ASC) portion of the program will lead teachers in classroom applications of the plays in Shakespeare's canon and on our stage, the Blackfriars Playhouse. The education staff and its troupe of professional actors will provide teachers with a host of materials and techniques for bringing Shakespeare to life for their students. An emphasis will be placed on the connections between the First Folio exhibit at UVA and its implications for teaching. Program participants will be prepared to bring their students to the exhibit this fall with activities that look at the importance of understanding how Shakespeare's text belongs to each of us, from teacher to student. Join this exploration of techniques that teachers can use to bring the plays to life in the classroom. 

Program participants will round out the day by watching the play, Henry V, spring to life in the hands of the talented ASC Dangerous Dreams troupe. Engaging with Shakespeare in the context of the Blackfriars Playhouse and using the same stage and practices his own actors used, these talented artists deliver a fast-paced, thrilling ride through the tale of England's rise in the early 15th Century. Perfect for teachers with an interest in British history, literature, drama, or anyone who enjoys a good story told well. 

Breakfast, lunch, play tickets, and transportation are included. 

There is also a two-day, residential version of this program available for a fee through the American Shakespeare Center. For details and registration information, please visit: http://www.americanshakespearecenter.com/pages/146/0/teacher-seminars

Agenda:

• 8:30 - 9:00: Registration and Breakfast at UVA's Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library
• 9:00 - 9:15 Welcome and Introductions
• 9:15 - 10:45 Shakespeare Exhibit Tour with UVA Faculty Expert
• 10:45 - 11:00 Break
• 11:00 - 12:30 Shakespeare Classroom Applications Session with ASC Education Director and Actors
• 12:30 - 1:30 Lunch/Travel to American Shakespeare Center in Staunton via bus
• 1:30 - 4:15 Attend play
• 4:30 - 5:30 Travel back to UVA via bus

Date: April 9, 2016, 8:30 a.m.

What does Dante’s classic poem Inferno have to do with contemporary American culture and the lives of high school students? Come find out as Dr. Deborah Parker, world renowned Dante scholar and Italian professor at the University of Virginia (UVA), and Dr. Mark Parker, Professor of English at James Madison University, lead this professional development program designed to animate the study of Dante through the use of highly accessible literary and artistic works and pedagogical strategies. Based on the three-week seminar for high school teachers on Dante held at UVA in summer 2015, this abbreviated one-day program highlights the cultural legacy and influence of the iconic poem on Western tradition by using other works as a creative and interpretive lens for deepening students’ understanding of the poem while building a bridge between the Dante’s world and today’s world. In particular, digital media—of which our students are avid consumers—have adapted and appropriated Dante’s famous poem in new ways, making a commonly difficult text more accessible to students.

The program agenda will include a demonstration of how to teach students about Dante’s Inferno and interactive presentations from three U.S. high school teachers who have written and field-tested related classroom lessons. Participants will also gain access to 13 other classroom lessons featured on the National Endowment for the Humanities website and additional instructional resources. To conclude the program, teacher-led breakout groups will be facilitated to brainstorm how the newly acquired content and pedagogical knowledge can be tweaked and localized for participants’ unique classroom contexts. Breakfast and lunch included.

Agenda:

• 9:00 - 9:30: Registration and Breakfast
• 9:30 - 9:45: Welcome, Agenda, Housekeeping, and Introductions
• 9:45 - 10:45: Overview of Dante and Related Instructional Resources 
• 10:45 - 11:30: Demonstration of How to Teach Dante’s Poem and Adaptations
• 11:30 - 12:30: Presentations of Classroom Lessons
• 12:30 - 1:30: Lunch
• 1:30 - 2:30: Jigsaw Breakout Groups with 3 Classroom Teachers
• 2:30 - 3:30: Brainstorming Groups to Localize Dante Content and Pedagogy

Date: March 19, 2016 - 9:00

Location: The Jefferson School - African American Heritage Center, 233 4th St NW, Charlottesville, VA 22903

• July 27­-28 Prof. Lisa Woolfork Introduction to African­American Literature
• August 10-­12 Prof. Patricia Sullivan Introduction to Rhetoric
• October 2-­3 & 23-­24 Prof. Gustavo Pellon New Voices in Literature

Date: July 27, 2015, 5:00 a.m.

A Workshop for Teachers of High School Students

This workshop features leading scholars in the fields of ethics and analytic writing who will guide a conversation about using ethical problems as the subject of student essays.

Agenda:

• 9:00 - 9:30 Registration
• 9:30 - 9:45 Introductions
• 9:45 - 11:00 "Ethics in the Environment" - Willis Jenkins
• 11:00 - 12:30 "Bioethical Controversies" - James Childress
• 12:30 - 1:45 "Writing as Critical Inquiry" - James Seitz
• 1:45 - 2:45 Pedagogy Session - Jennifer Sublette
• 2:45 Conclusion

This program is sponsored by the Buckner W. Clay Endowment for the Humanities, The Virginia Center for the Study of Religion & The Center for the Liberal Arts

Date: April 25, 2015 - 9:00 a.m.

Instructors / Presenters: Willis Jenkins, Associate Professor of Religion, Ethics and the Environment; James Childress, University Professor & John Hollingsworth Professor of Ethics; James Seitz, Associate Professor of English, Director of Academic and Professional Writing Program; Jennifer Sublette, Williamson, K-12 Facilitator of Social Studies & Gifted Services, ACPS;

Location: The Jefferson School - African American Heritage Center, 233 4th St NW, Charlottesville, VA 22903

A Workshop for Virginia Middle and High school Teachers

This special panel for middle and high school teachers is intended to help integrate African-American poetry into their curriculum. A poetry reading will follow the workshop. Those participants attending both the program and the reading will receive a certificate for four hours of professional development points towards licensure renewal.

Agenda:

• 12:00 - 12:30: Participant Registration
• 12:30 - 12:50: “Your Attention, Please: Ways of Listening” - John Casteen
• 12:50 - 1:10: “What’s the Wordle?” - Lisa Woolfork
• 1:10 - 1:30: “Nontraditional Ways to Approach the Reading and Writing of Poetry,” - Chapman Hood Frazier
• 1:30 - 2:30: Breakout Groups - Teachers will be divided into three groups and every 20 minutes will rotate among each of the three professors to share ideas in a small group and to share triumphs and challenges.
• 2:30 - 3:00: Closing Remarks and Panel Discussion - Lisa Woolfork, John Casteen, Chapman Hood Frazier
• 3:00 - 3:30: - BREAK
• 3:30 - 5:30: Poetry Reading, Grafton-Stovall Theatre

Date: September 27, 2014, 12:00

Instructors/ Presenters: John Casteen, Visiting Assistant Professor, Creative Writing, Sweet Briar College; Lisa Woolfork, Associate Professor, Department of English, University of Virginia; Chapman Hood Frazier, Professor of Middle and Secondary Education, James Madison University.

Location: James Madison University

Sponsors: James Madison University's Furious Flower Poetry Center & the Center for the Liberal Arts 

Agenda:

• 9:15 - 9:45: Registration (light refreshments and breakfast foods are provided)
• 9:45 - 10:30: Beyond the Five-Paragraph Theme by James Seitz, Patricia Sullivan, Natasha Heny
• 10:30 - 10:45: Break
• 10:45 - 12:00: Writing as Inquiry by James Seitz
• 12:00 - 12:30: Lunch (meal is provided)
• 12:30 - 1:45: Multi-Genre Research by Natasha Heny
• 1:45 - 2:00: Break
• 2:00 - 3:00: "Words and Images: Composing the Photographic Essay" by Patricia Sullivan

Date: April 12, 2014 - 9:15 a.m.

Instructors / Presenters: James Seitz, Director of the Academic Writing Program, UVA; Patricia Sullivan, Director of the Writing Center, UVA; Natasha Heny, Assistant Professor, Curry School of Education, UVA

Location: The Jefferson School - African American Heritage Center, 233 4th St NW, Charlottesville, VA 22903

Sponsors: UVA's Center for the Liberal Arts and the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities 

Gaius Julius Caesar (10044 BC) is an iconic figure in the history of western civilization. An accomplished general who conquered Gaul for the Roman state, he turned his armies to personal advantage in a civil war from which he emerged victorious. An innovative, if controversial, ruler, he was also a distinguished orator, a respected writer of military memoirs, and made an important contribution to culture by introducing the Julian calendar. Legends of Caesar began with Caesar himself but thereafter enjoyed a long and varied life both within classical antiquity and continuing until today. Caesar's conquest of Gaul, crossing of the Rubicon, liaison with Cleopatra, and his assassination by Brutus and the other conspirators are all the stuff of legend, which one can see played out from Plutarch and Suetonius to Machiavelli and Shakespeare to John Wilkes Booth, Caesar's Palace, and HBO's Rome (among others).

This workshop offers several different perspectives on Julius Caesar and his legend. The speakers will focus on Caesar as general and statesman, the accomplishment of Caesar as a writer in his Gallic Wars, and Shakespeare's play, Julius Caesar. There will be ample time for discussion of all these topics and of teaching Caesar in the high school classroom. The workshop is aimed at teachers across the high school curriculum, whether of English, Latin, Social Studies, or other subjects.

Participants are asked to read book 1 of Caesar's Gallic Wars and Shakespeare's Julius Caesar.

Date: March 24, 2012 - 6:00 a.m.

Instructors / Presenters: Jon E. Lendon, Professor of History, UVA; Jane W. Crawford, Professor of Classics, UVA; Gordon Braden, Linden Kent Memorial Professor of English, UVA.

Location: Zehmer Hall, University of Virginia

Sponsors: The Center for the Liberal Arts and Arthur Vining Davis Foundations

Agenda:

• 8:30 - 9:00: Registration
• 9:00 - 9:10: Introductions
• 9:10 - 9:50: Common Sense in 1776 - Sophia Rosenfeld, UVA
• 10:00 - 10:55: Common Sense and The American Literary Tradition - Jennifer Greeson, UVA
• 11:00 - 11:55: A Usable Legacy? Tom Paine and The American Radical Tradition - Eric Arnesen, George Washington University
• 12:00 - 1:00: Lunch and Book Signing
• 1:00 - 2:00: Stephanie Van Hover, UVA - Teaching Common Sense

Date: March 19, 2011, 8:30 a.m.

Location: Zehmer Hall, University of Virginia

Sponsors: The Center for the Liberal Arts, the Arthur Vining Davis Foundations, The Festival of the Book, and The Virginia Foundation for the Humanities

Agenda:

• Morning Session:
  • Suzanne Keen - Questions to Ask a Poem
  • Herbert Tucker - Online Program for Understanding the Prosody of English Verse
  • Lisa Russ Spaar - Guiding Students in Writing their Own Poetry
• Lunch
• Afternoon Session:
  • Margo Figgins - Open Discussion on Entire Poetry Topic

Date: October 9, 2010, 5:00 a.m.

Moderator: Gordon Braden

Location: University of Virginia

Sponsor: The Arthur Vining Davis Foundations and the Center for Liberal Arts

This Saturday symposium, held at the University of Virginia’s Miller Center of Public Affairs, will examine the 2024 election and provide strategies for helping students engage in constructive conversations about it. Through an exploration of the issues, the candidates, and the electorate, specialists from UVA’s Department of Politics, the Miller Center, and the University of Richmond’s New American History project will highlight key facets of the coming contest. They will also highlight ways to facilitate difficult conversations across the partisan divide, an important skill in an increasingly polarized political environment.

In order for this program to give attendees enough activity hours to count towards recertification, we are asking you to do the following Pre-program exploration:

Before attending the program, please spend an hour exploring this interactive map, Electing the President. We will work with the map during the day, alongside a suite of free learning resources designed to engage your students as they investigate the history of presidential elections. Please come prepared to share your questions and ideas about using the map in your classroom.

We look forward to seeing you!

Organizer:

Marc Selverstone - UVA Miller Center; CLA Project Director; Professor and Director of Presidential Studies and Co-Chair of the Presidential Recordings Program

Presenters:

Jennifer Lawless - Chair, UVA Department of Politics; UVA Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy; Leone Reaves and George W. Spicer Professor of Politics and Professor of Public Policy

Mary Kate Cary - UVA Department of Politics; Adjunct Professor

Annie Evans, MEd - Director of Education & Outreach, New American History, University of Richmond

Agenda:

• 10:00 - 10:30: Registration, coffee/breakfast
• 10:30 – 10:35: Welcome and Introductions by Prof. Marc Selverstone
• 10:35 - 11:20: "Teaching Election 2024: What could possibly go wrong?", Prof. Mary Kate Cary and Prof. Jen Lawless
• 11:20 - 11:50: Q&A with Prof. Mary Kate Cary and Prof. Jen Lawless
• 11:50 - 11:55: Bathroom break
• 11:55 - 12:10: "Where do we go from here?" - Debrief scholars' session/resources Annie Evans, MEd
• 12:10 - 12:50; Lunch
• 12:50 – 1:50: "Visualizing the Presidency" - Explore purposeful ways to employ data literacy in the humanities via OER digital scholarship tools and resources. Annie Evans, MEd
• 1:50 - 2:00: Evaluation, goodbye

Additional Resources:

UVA Miller Center

UVA Miller Center Election Blog

UVA Miller Center U.S. Presidents

Date: September 21, 2024 - 10:00am at

Location: The UVA Miller Center of Public Affairs, 2201 Olde Ivy Rd, Charlottesville, VA 22903 

This half-day symposium, held at the Jefferson School African American Heritage Center in Charlottesville, will forefront how Black Virginians utilized the judicial system to defeat Massive Resistance and expand democracy and civil rights in education. The commemorative event will also use the U.S. Supreme Court’s 1954 Brown v. Board and 1964 Griffin v. Board decisions as entry points into a broader consideration of how Civil Rights Era collective memory permeates education today. 

This symposium is especially relevant for K-12 educators teaching Virginia Studies, US I, US II, VA-US History, and VA-US Government. Participating teachers will engage in collaborative discussions on how to use personal narratives associated with these cases as primary sources in their classrooms and will receive a certificate of completion at the conclusion of the conference. 

"Resisting Massive Resistance" is supported by various partners, including the President's Office, Carter G. Woodson Institute for African-American & African Studies; the Center for Liberal Arts, Center for Race & Public Education in the South; Center for the Study of Race & Law; Division for Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion; The Equity Center; Jefferson School African American Heritage Center, and the Memory Project at the Karsh Institute of Democracy.

Background:

May 2024 will mark not just the 70th anniversary of Brown, but also the 60th anniversary of the pivotal but less publicly remembered Griffin decision. Considered one of the Court’s most consequential post-Brown education rulings, Griffinsafeguarded U.S. public education by outlawing Massive Resistance privatization policies used by segregationists to defund and close public schools. 

Resisting Massive Resistance will look both at the history and memory of the Civil Rights struggle for equal education, and toward the future. At a time when support for U.S. public education feels more precarious than ever, this symposium will bring together educators, scholars, and Brown and Griffin descendants, to examine the past and future of race, law, and equal education.

Speakers and Participants:

Dr. Derrick Alridge, Founding director, UVA Center for Race & Public Education in the South

Joan Johns Cobbs, Brown v. Board student plaintiff and sister of 1951 Moton Student Strike co-leader, the late Barbara Johns Powell (featured on the Virginia Civil Rights Memorial on Virginia’s Capitol Square)

Dr. Candace Epps-Robertson, professor of English, UNC Chapel Hill; author, Resisting Brown: Race, Literacy, and Citizenship in the Heart of Virginia

Leslie “Skip” Griffin Jr., Griffin v. Board student plaintiff and son of the late Rev. L. Francis Griffin Sr. (featured on the Virginia Civil Rights Memorial on Virginia’s Capitol Square) 

Justin G. Reid, Visiting scholar, UVA Memory Project; nephew of Griffin v. Board plaintiff Warren Reid 

Kimberly Jenkins Robinson, Founder & director, UVA Education Rights Institute; director, UVA Center for the Study of Race & Law 

Dr. Jalane Schmidt, Director, UVA Memory Project

Dr. Jeanne Theoharis, Political science professor, Brooklyn College; author, A More Beautiful & Terrible History: The Uses & Misuses of Civil Rights History 

Dr. Amy Tillerson Brown, History department chair, Mary Baldwin University; state education chair, Virginia NAACP

Cainan Townsend, Executive director, Moton Museum; great-grandson of Brown v. Board parent plaintiff John Townsend

Dr. Anna Yonas, Curriculum, instruction & special education, UVA School of Education

Agenda:

• 9:00 - 10:00: Coffee & Continental Breakfast
• 10:00 - 10:15: Welcome, Opening Remarks & Keynote Introduction
• 10:15 - 11:00:  Keynote/Q&A: Jeanne Theoharis
• 11:00 - 11:15: Break
• 11:15 - 12:45: Introduction and Panel/Q&A on history, memory & myths; Moderator: Derrick Alridge
• 12:45 - 2:00: Lunch and K-12 Educator Roundtables; Facilitator: Anna Yonis
• 2:00-2:50: Introduction and Closing Panel/Q&A: Kimberly Robinson in conversation with Joan Johns Cobbs & Leslie Griffin Jr.
• 2:50 - 3:00: Closing Remarks 

Date: May 4, 2024 - 9:00am at 

Location: The Jefferson School - African American Heritage Center, 233 4th St NW, Charlottesville, VA 22903

A free in-person professional development program for teachers

How can sports help us teach central moments and concepts in US history? This in-person program, at Charlottesville’s celebrated Jefferson School African American Heritage Center, featuring scholars from the University of Virginia and elsewhere, will focus on the role of sports in the history of desegregation in Virginia. Multimedia resources will be demonstrated, discussed, and made available. The program is free for all middle and high school teachers, with breakfast and lunch provided - please register to attend.

Agenda:

• 8:45 - 9:15: Registration, coffee, pastries
• 9:15 - 9:30: Welcome + Short video of late Dr. Robert Johnson
• 9:30 - 9:45: Introduction: Derrick Alridge, Project Director Education, Philip J. Gibson Professor of Education, Affiliate faculty member in the Carter G. Woodson Institute for African-American and African Studies, University of Virginia.
• 9:45 - 10:30: No Playbook - School Integration During Massive Resistance https://noplaybook.albemarlehistory.org, Tom Chapman, Executive Director, Albemarle Charlottesville Historical Society, Lorenzo Dickerson, Documentary film-maker, Abby Farson Pratt, Web Studio Director for The Journey Group
• 10:15 - 10:30: Break
• 10:30 - 11:15: Desegregation of tennis in Virginia, including excerpts from film, Robert Johnson, Historian, Grandson of late Dr. Robert Johnson, former tennis coach and mentor of Arthur Ashe and Althea Gibson.
• 11:15 - 12:00: National context for desegregation of sports in Virginia, Bonnie Hagerman, Associate Professor, Women, Gender & Sexuality, University of Virginia
• 12:00 - 1:00: Lunch
• 1:00 - 1:45: Thinking about sports and race in contemporary classrooms, Paul Harris, Founder, Integrity Matters, LLC
• 1:45 - 2:30: Using No Playbook: Nora Grabcheski, ACHS Public History intern, Annie Evans, Director of Education and Outreach, New American History
• 2:30 - 2:45: Coffee Break
• 2:45 - 3:45: Concluding session: Takeaways, next steps, evaluation form, Annie Evans, Director of Education and Outreach, New American History

Sponsors: the Arthur Vining Davis Foundations

Date: November 11, 2023 - 8:45

Location: Jefferson School - African American Heritage Center, 233 4th St NW, Charlottesville, VA 22903

This workshop will be 100% virtual. Participants will be provided with a Zoom link before the event.

** There will be a pre-workshop reading and a short response for all participants - this work combined with the actual virtual workshop, will satisfy the 5-hr requirement to be used for recertification. **

BONUS: Every attendee will receive a copy of My Monticello in the mail after the program, for free!

Presenters:

Annie Evans, MEd - Director of Education & Outreach, New American History, University of Richmond

Dr. Julian Hayter - Associate Professor of Leadership Studies, University of Richmond

Dr. Sarah-SoonLing Blackburn - Deputy Director, Learning and Engagement, Learning for Justice

Dr. Taisha Steele - Director, Human & Civil Rights, Virginia Education Association

Dr. Lisa Woolfork - Professor of English, University of Virginia. Co-Director, Center for the Liberal Arts

Moderator:

Dr. Derrick Alridge - Philip J. Gibson Professor of Education; Affiliate faculty member in the Carter G. Woodson Institute for African-American and African Studies

Special Guest:

Jocelyn Nicole Johnson - Author, My Monticello

Tentative Agenda:

• 9:00 - 9:10: Welcome, greetings.
• 9:10 - 10:10: “Notes on the Fate of Virginia (and our Public Schools)” Annie Evans & Julian Hayter, Includes Q&A/discussion
• 10:20 - 10:40: “Prepping for UVA’s 1st Year Curriculum” Lisa Woolfork, Includes Q&A/discussion
• 11:00 - 12:00: “Teaching Hard History: American Slavery: Reports from the Field” Sarah-SoonLing Blackburn + Teachers, Includes Q&A/discussion
• 12:05 - 12:45: Lisa Woolfork and Jocelyn Nicole Johnson Conversation on My Monticello
• 12:45 - 1:00: Closing, evaluation, goodbye

Date: April 11, 2023 - 9:00am on Zoom

A collaborative effort between the University of Virginia Center for Liberal Arts, Miller Center, Democracy Initiative, and Karsh Institute of Democracy

A free in-person workshop for middle and high school teachers

We invite teachers from across Virginia to attend this workshop to explore strategies for incorporating lessons about and for democracy in the classroom.

Through morning discussions and afternoon working sessions, workshop attendees will help to shape curricular resources on the teaching of democracy through five distinct units: The Presidency; Realizing the American Dream; Living Democratically; Governing America; and Civic Rights, Responsibilities, and Opportunities. These materials will be disseminated throughout the Commonwealth for the coming academic year.

The workshop is a central component of the year-long UVA Democracy Biennial Fellows program, through which five middle and high school teachers are developing these educational resources. The program kicked off in the fall of 2021 as part of the UVA Democracy Biennial, which was a production of the University’s new Karsh Institute of Democracy.

Organizers:

Marc Selverstone, Associate professor, Miller Center, UVA

Stefanie Georgakis Abbott, Director of programming, the Karsh Institute of Democracy, UVA

Alfred Reaves IV, Faculty and Program Coordinator, Miller Center, UVA

Speakers & Moderators:

Paula McAvoy, Associate Professor of Education, NC State

Neeley Minton, Albemarle County Public Schools, Lead Coach - Social Studies (K-12)

Jessica Kimpbell Johnson, Research Director and Lab Manager

Cluny Brown, Clover Hill High School (Chesterfield)

Kimberly Dove, Wilbur S. Pence Middle School (Dayton)

Allen Robinson, Charlottesville High School (Charlottesville)

Joseph Servis, Appomattox High School (Appomattox)

Christina Takach, UVA Doctoral Student and Freelance Curriculum and Test Developer - Mark Twain Middle School (Fairfax)

Agenda:

• 10:00 – 10:15: Welcome and Introductions - Marc Selverstone - Location: Forum Room
• 10:15 – 11:00: Session 1: Education for Democracy - Speaker: Paula McAvoy - Moderator: Neeley Minton - Location: Forum Room
• 11:05 – 11:50: Breakout session 1 - Locations: Forum Room, Forum Anteroom, Commons Room, Library, Situation Room   
• 11:50 am – 12:45: Lunch - Location: Forum Anteroom
• 12:45 – 1:30: Session 2: The Civic Health Index and Democracy - Speaker: Jessica Kimpell Johnson - Moderator: Stefanie Georgakis Abbott - Location: Forum Room
• 1:35 – 2:20: Breakout session 2 - Locations: Forum Room, Forum Anteroom, Commons Room, Library, Situation Room
• 2:20 – 2:30: Break
• 2:30 – 3:15: Session 3: Presentations and Final Discussion - Location: Forum Room - Speakers: Cluny Brown, Kimberly Dove, Allen Robinson, Joseph Servis, Christina Takach
• 3:15 – 3:20: Closing Remarks - Forum Room

Speaker Bios

Paula McAvoy earned her PhD in philosophy of education in 2010 at UW-Madison’s Department of Educational Policy Studies. Since then, she has worked as an assistant professor at Illinois State, an associate program officer at the Spencer Foundation and as the Director of the Center for Ethics and Education at UW-Madison. Prior to this, she taught high school social studies for 10 years at the Foothill Middle College Program in Los Altos, California.

Dr. McAvoy is the PhD coordinator for the Social Studies Program Area of Study.

Her research focuses on philosophical and empirical questions concerning the relationship between schools and democratic society. She addresses two broad questions:

1.   What educational aims and practices are most appropriate for preparing young people for living within a non-ideal democratic society (e.g., structural inequalities, political polarization)?

2.   How should teachers and administrators make professional judgments about the dilemmas they face given non-ideal conditions? For example, what ethical challenges do teachers encounter when they engage students in discussions of controversial political issues?

Neeley Minton has taught World History and U.S. History in Albemarle County Public Schools and has served as an instructional coach at middle schools and high schools in the area. She served as coordinator of K-12 Social Studies curriculum and instruction in Charlottesville City Schools and is currently serving in a similar role in Albemarle County Public Schools.

Neeley founded the division-wide K-12 Changing the Narrative initiative designed to build educators’ capacity to explore the historical roots of modern-day inequities and teach through rigorous, anti-racist/anti-bias instruction. Members of the Changing the Narrative cohorts collaborated with teachers from across Virginia to write anti-racist/anti-bias and culturally responsive inquiry-based units in K-12 Social Studies. These units are intended to prepare K-12 students for membership in a multi-racial democracy and to provide opportunities for students to engage in justice-oriented citizenship.

As Lead Coach for Social Studies and Coordinator of Elementary Reframing the Narrative for Albemarle County Schools, she partnered with James Madison’s Montpelier and other community organizations to build the capacity of K-12 educators to design anti-racist/anti-bias and culturally responsive inquiry-based units that will be available open source on C3 Teachers.

Neeley has presented at statewide conferences on anti-racist/anti-bias instructional practices, teaching through inquiry, scaffolding for inquiry, and providing comprehensible input to increase the accessibility of inquiry-based instruction for multilingual learners.

Jessica Kimpell Johnson is the Director of Research for the Karsh Institute of Democracy and Manager of the Nau Lab on the History & Principles of Democracy with the Democracy Initiative at UVA. She received her doctorate in politics from the University of Oxford, where she was a Truman Scholar. Prior to teaching and working at UVA, she taught at Columbia University in the Department of Political Science for eight years. Her work has been published in the European Political Science Review, European Journal of Political Theory and on OpenDemocracy.net. She has edited and annotated a collection of the works of Thomas Paine and has written opinion essays for various media outlets. Her teaching and research interests are largely in the history of political thought and contemporary political theory, specializing in democratic thought and republicanism. Before her doctoral studies, she received an M.S. in journalism from Northwestern University and worked as a journalist covering the U.S. Congress for Congressional Quarterly (CQ) in Washington, D.C. Her B.A. is in Political Science from the University of Minnesota.

Marc Selverstone is an associate professor in Presidential Studies at the Miller Center and chair of the Center’s Presidential Recordings Program. He earned a BA degree in philosophy from Trinity College (CT), a master’s degree in international affairs from Columbia University, and a PhD in history from Ohio University. A historian of the Cold War, he is the author of Constructing the Monolith: The United States, Great Britain, and International Communism, 1945-1950 (Harvard, 2009), which won the Stuart L. Bernath Book Prize from the Society for Historians of American Foreign Relations, and The Kennedy Withdrawal: Camelot and the American Commitment to Vietnam (Harvard, 2022). He is the general editor of The Presidential Recordings Digital Edition, the primary online portal for transcripts of the tapes, published by the University of Virginia Press, editor of A Companion to John F. Kennedy (Wiley-Blackwell, 2014), and co-editor of the Miller Center’s “Studies on the Presidency” series with UVA Press.

Stefanie Georgakis Abbott is the director of programming at the Karsh Institute of Democracy at the University of Virginia. Before joining the Karsh Institute of Democracy, she served as the associate director of presidential studies at UVA’s Miller Center of Public Affairs from 2014 to 2022, where she also co-directed the Hillary Rodham Clinton Oral History Project. Previously, Stefanie taught courses on political science and international relations at Virginia Tech and Radford University and supported project management for the U.S. Coast Guard and Department of Homeland Security. She is the co-editor of Crucible: The President’s First Year (with Michael Nelson and Jeff Chidester) and Addressing Integration and Exclusion: Democracy, Human Rights, and Humanitarian Intervention (with Yannis Stivachtis). She has published journal articles and book chapters on immigration and nationalism, EU integration, the American presidency, and international relations theory. Stefanie holds a BA degree in international studies and a BA degree in French from Virginia Tech, an MA degree in nationalism studies from Central European University, and a PhD in public and international affairs from Virginia Tech.

Date: October 22, 2022 - 10:00am

Location: University of Virginia Miller Center, 2201 Old Ivy Road, Charlottesville, VA 22904

A Free Online Program for K-12 Teachers  

Through this online program, we aim to provide a safe and trusting platform to share practical skills, language, strategies, and resources to teach truth during this challenging time. In addition to hearing from well-respected experts, scholars, and educators, Teaching Truth in Challenging Times will also include a panel of public and private high school students sharing their experience with the heightened challenges to their learning. 

Organizer:

Lisa Woolfork, Co-Director, Center for the Liberal Arts, University of Virginia.

Speakers:

Ed Ayers, Executive Director, New American History and Tucker-Boatwright Professor of the Humanities, University of Richmond

Annie Evans, Director of Education and Outreach, New American History, University of Richmond.

Sarah-SoonLing Blackburn, Assoc. Director, Learning in Schools, Learning for Justice, Southern Poverty Law Center.

Maureen Costello, Exec. Director, Center for Anti-Racist Education, Stand for Children Leadership Center.

Sally Hudson, Delegate (District 57), Virginia General Assembly. Asst. Professor of Public Policy, University of Virginia 

Taisha C. Steele, Ed.S., Director of Human and Civil Rights, Virginia Education Association

Alexis Mason, Instructional Coach, Charlottesville High School.

Yahusef Medina Associate Director of Community Initiatives, Virginia Humanities.

Agenda:

• 9:00 - 9:15 Registration --Zoom opens, Participants enter. Add name/grade level/location in the chat (optional)
• 9:15 - 9:30 Opening Remarks
• 9:30 - 9:45 Q&A Session: Questions, establish where we are as a group.
• 9:45 -10:30 Teaching Through - and With - Historical Tensions - Ed Ayers, Annie Evans  
• 10:30-10:45 Break/Q&A Session
• 10:45 - 11:30 Advocating for the Teaching of Honest History: What Teachers Can Do - Sarah-SoonLing Blackburn  
• 11:30 - 11:45 Break/Q&A Session
• 11:45 - 12:30 Teaching Social Studies in Anxious Times - Maureen Costello
• 12:30 - 12:45 Break/Q&A Session
• 12:45 - 1:30 LUNCH
• 1:30 - 1:45 Welcome Address - Sally Hudson  
• 1:45 - 2:30 Honesty in Education: Protecting the Truth - Taisha C. Steele, Ed.S.  
• 2:30 - 3:30 Student Panel Discussion - Alexis Mason, Yahusef Medina
• 3:30 - 4:00 Teacher Sharing/Resource Review
• 4:00 - 4:15 Closing Remarks

Sponsors: the Arthur Vining Davis Foundations

Date: April 9, 2022 - 9:00am

Location: Zoom

A Free Online Program for K-12 teachers in Charlottesville Public Schools and Albemarle County Public Schools

This online program is a collaborative effort between The Carter G. Woodson Institute for African American & African Studies and The Association for the Study of the Worldwide African Diaspora (ASWAD). 

The Woodson-ASWAD African & African Diaspora Teacher-Training Institute aims to provide cutting-edge, accessible African and African Diaspora scholarship to K-12 educators. Through engaging and informative discussions, practical suggestions for curricular implementation, and resource guides, the Institute will help K-12 educators to accurately and effectively teach their students the rich histories and cultures of African and African-descended peoples. 

Speakers:

Kia Lilly Caldwell, Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs & Diversity, Washington University in St. Louis.

Anne Rotich, Assistant Professor of Swahili, The Carter G. Woodson Institute for African American and African Studies, University of Virginia.

Katrina Spencer, Librarian for African & African American Studies, University of Virginia.

Robert Trent Vinson, Director and Chair, The Carter G. Woodson Institute for African American and African Studies, University of Virginia. President, Association for the Study of the Worldwide African Diaspora (ASWAD).

Agenda:

• 9:00 - 9:15 am Welcome remarks by Robert Trent Vinson
• 9:15 - 10:15 Session I: Teaching Global Africa Part 1 - Robert Trent Vinson
• 10:30 - 11:30 Session II: Teaching Global Africa Part 2 - Anne Rotich
• 11:30 - 12:30 LUNCH BREAK
• 12:30 - 1:30 Session III: Teaching the African Diaspora in Latin America: Making the Experiences of Afro-Latin American and Afro-Latinx Communities Visible - Kia Caldwell
• 1:45 - 2:45 Session IV: Digital Resources Beyond the Required Curriculum - Katrina Spencer
• 2:45 - 3:00 Closing Session, Remarks, Post-workshop Evaluation Survey

Date: October 16, 2021 - 9:00am

Location: Zoom

A Free Online Program for K-12 Teachers 

This free professional learning virtual event will focus on providing teacher-centered content with practical outcomes that can easily be implemented in virtual and in-person classrooms. The program will feature extraordinary resources, Teaching Hard History, New American History, and materials that are developmentally and psychologically appropriate for younger grades (K-5th).

Participants will experience hands-on research and interactive exercises to address obstacles in teaching Anti-Racist History. There will be ample time for breakout sessions and teacher-led discussions. This program is a follow-up to previous workshops we offered in 2018 and 2019 With the Southern Poverty Law Center's Teaching Tolerance program and is open to both returning participants and new allies.

Participants who attend 3 or more sessions will receive a Certificate of Attendance which may be used to earn relicensure points. During each session, participants will use the chat as a backchannel to help process new content and share resources/ideas for best practices. Throughout the program, we ask participants to keep track of any steps they might take or have taken in their own classrooms or school divisions.

Agenda:

• 8:30 - 8:45 Registration - Zoom opens, Participants enter, add name/grade level/location in the chat. (opening music/Fralin image on screen)
• 8:45 - 9:00 Art & Grounded Looking (AGL). Use a work of art as an anchor to ground your learning experience in mindful awareness. Facilitated by Fralin Museum of Art educators, we’ll begin the morning and afternoon sessions with a series of prompts that support observation, active listening, and self-reflection.
• 9:00 - 9:15 Opening Remarks 
• 9:15 - 9:45 Let’s Go! -- Breakouts led by teachers selected in advance to address expectations/concerns. Each group will have a question that they work through together.
• 9:45 - 10:30 “Virginia, We Need to Talk” - Michelle Cottrell-Williams & Antoinette Dempsey-Waters,
• 10:30 - 10:45 Reflective Journaling
• 10:45 - 11:30 “Developmental Readiness for Culturally Responsive/Antiracist/Hard History" - Johari Harris
• 11:30 - 11:45 Trivia Break -- An interactive group exercise 
• 11:45 - 12:45 "Complicating Slavery: Adding the Indigenous Experience" - Maureen Costello, former director of SPLC’s Teaching Tolerance, Executive Director of the Center for Antiracist Education (CARE)
• 12:45 - 1:30 Lunch
• 1:30 Remarks from UVA Executive Vice President and Provost Liz Magill
• 1:40 - 2:00 Art & Grounded Looking (AGL). Use a work of art as an anchor to ground your learning experience in mindful awareness. 
• 2:00 - 2:45 “Teaching The Truth: Implementing the Work of The African American History Education Commission” in the Classroom - Ed Ayers & Annie Evans, New American History
• 2:45 - 3:30 “Place-Based Antiracist Learning Resources and Activities” - Justin Reid, Meredith Howard, Chris Mathews
• 3:30 - 4:30 Action Steps for Moving Forward: a Teacher-Led Discussion -- At the start of the session, we asked teachers/participants to keep track of steps they might or have taken in their own classrooms or school in response to this material. We will close the program by listening to these reflections and contributions.  

Date: March 13, 2021 - 8:30am

Location: Zoom

We are sorry; this event has been postponed.

The University of Virginia is suspending all university-sponsored events that involve more than 100 people. 

Please stay tuned for updates.

This year, we aim to increase teacher engagement by crowd-sourcing compelling learning resources developed by teachers, for teachers. All registrants will have access to a shared folder that will stay "live" at the program, and we will be asking you to submit resources and to share your experiences, success stories, and challenges.

Registration is open!

Agenda:

• 9:00 - 9:45 Registration
• 9:45 - 10:00 Opening remarks –Patrice Grimes, Curry School of Education and Human Development
• 10:00 - 10:45 “Virginia, We Need to Talk”-- Michelle Cottrell-Williams and Antoinette Dempsey-Waters, History Educators, Wakefield HS, Arlington Co. Public Schools
• 10:45 - 12:00 “Who’s Afraid of Teaching Hard History?” –Maureen Costello, Teaching Tolerance
• 12:00 - 12:45 “Coffee and Conversation”: small group sessions--teachers discuss/post to Resource Bank 
• 12:45 - 1:30 LUNCH
• 1:30 - 2:30 “Local Stories as Antiracist History”— James Perla, UVA Carter G. Woodson Institute; Justin Reid, Virginia Humanities; Lisa Woolfork, UVA English Department 
• 2:30 - 3:30 “Imagining a New American History,” Edward Ayers, University of Richmond
• 3:30 - 4:15 “Coffee and Conversation”: small group sessions--teachers discuss/post to Resource Bank 
• 4:15 - 5:00 Final Panel: Action Steps for Moving Forward

Date: March 28, 2020 - 9:00am at

Location: Zehmer Hall 104 Midmont Lane Charlottesville, VA 22904

Joint Program with Teaching Tolerance

This free program will feature three extraordinary resources, Teaching Hard History, The Illusion of Progress, and American Panorama. Participants will receive hands-on experience in using them, consider strategies for implementing them in classes, and address obstacles to such implementation. The program is a follow-up to the one we offered in 2018 and is open both to those who were not at that earlier program and those who were.

• Maureen Costello and Monita Bell of Teaching Tolerance will present new elements of the Teaching Hard History resources and accompanying framework.
• Renowned historian Edward Ayers will present related elements of the stunning mapping analysis program American Panorama.
• James Perla and Lisa Woolfork of the University of Virginia will present some pedagogical applications for the Carter Woodson Institute’s remarkable The Illusion of Progress: Charlottesville’s Roots in White Supremacy, a hyper-local interactive site. 

These initial sessions will thus move from the national to the local. They will be followed, after a free lunch buffet provided to all participants, by:

• break-out sessions for teachers by grade level, focused on specific classroom uses of the resources presented in the morning sessions;
• the day will conclude with candid discussion of barriers and assets that affect implementation.

Participants will receive certificates of attendances and teaching materials associated with the resources. Registration open now at www.virginia.edu/cla

Agenda:

• 8:15 - 8:45 Registration, coffee, pastries (free parking)
• 8:45 - 9:00 Introductions, context, and charge: Patrice Grimes, Curry School of Education, UVA
• 9:00 - 10:45 Teaching Hard History—new resources: Monita Bell and Maureen Costello, Teaching Tolerance
• 10:45 - 11:00 break
• 11:00 - 11:45 American Panorama: Edward Ayers, University of Richmond
• 11:45-12:30 The Illusion of Progress: James Perla, Carter Woodson Institute; Lisa Woolfork, UVA Department of English
• 12:30 - 1:30 Lunch
• 1:30 - 2:45 Breakout groups, classroom implementation, development of classroom resources
• 2:45 - 3:00 break
• 3:00 - 4:00 Teaching hard history in and about Richmond, Charlottesville, Virginia, and the United States, moderated by Patrice Grimes

Offered by the University of Virginia’s Center for Liberal Arts, in cooperation with the VA General Assembly African American Cultural Resources task force, and funded by the Arthur Vining Davis Foundations, this program features participants from the Carter G. Woodson Institute, the Southern Poverty Law Center’s Teaching Tolerance Project, the University of Richmond’s Digital Scholarship Lab, the University of Virginia English Department, and the Curry School of Education.

Date: March 23, 2019 - 8:15am

Location: the University of Richmond, Alice Haynes Room, Tyler Haynes Commons

Teaching Hard History and The Illusion of Progress

A free program for K-12 Teachers

This free program will introduce teachers to two extraordinary new resources, provide hands-on experience in using them, and offer strategies for implementing them in classes. Teaching Tolerance will launch at this program its new Framework for Teaching American Slavery in association with the detailed analysis in its report Hard History: Teaching About American Slavery. The online framework allows students to draw connections between historical events and concurrent struggles for racial equality, and to contextualize how the world they inhabit was shaped by the institution of slavery and its ideological progeny, white supremacy: the tool proceeds era by era, with each section ending with pragmatic answers to the question “How can I teach this?” It has been carefully designed for use at every level of instruction. After learning about Hard History, which focuses on national and global issues, teachers will be introduced to the UVA Carter Woodson Institute’s The Illusion of Progress: Charlottesville’s Roots in White Supremacy, a hyper-local interactive site that attempts to broaden the focus beyond the Confederate monuments increasingly the subject of public debates and protests to the deep structures of white supremacy and the persisting inequities there into show the consequences of these structures in Charlottesville, the Commonwealth of Virginia, and the nation.

After a free lunch provided to all participants, representatives from Teaching Tolerance and Carter Woodson will lead a round-table discussion about classroom uses of these new and already essential materials. Participants will receive certificates of attendances and teaching materials associated with the resources.

Agenda:

• 8:30 - 9:00 Registration, coffee, pastries (free parking)
• 9:00 - 9:15 General introduction
• 9:15 - 11:15 Teaching Hard History:Monita Bell and Maureen Costello, Teaching Tolerance
• 11:15 - 11:30 Break
• 11:30 - 1:00 The Illusion of Progress: James Perla, Carter Woodson Center; Lisa Woolfork, UVA Department of English
• 1:00 - 2:00 Lunch
• 2:00 - 3:15 Roundtable discussion on classroom implementation
• 3:15 - 3:30 Conclusion, evaluations

This program is offered by the Center for the Liberal Arts, the Carter Woodson Institute, and the Southern Poverty Law Center’s Teaching Tolerance Project with funding from the Arthur Vining Davis Foundations.

Date: March 17, 2018 - 8:30am

Location: the University of Virginia

A History Workshop for Virginia Teachers

In honor of the 50th Anniversary of the 1964 Freedom Summer project, faculty and fellows from the Carter G. Woodson Institute and the Curry School of Education at the University of Virginia will conduct a day-long workshop entitled “Teaching Freedom Summer” on September 20, 2014. In 1964, civil rights organizations, citizens of Mississippi, and student volunteers from across the country came together to challenge segregation in one of the nation’s most racially oppressive and violent states. They registered African American voters who had been denied the right to vote, established Freedom Schools, organized Freedom Votes and created the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party, dedicated to unseating the whites-only Mississippi delegation for the Democratic National Convention of 1964. It was a strategic experiment that rocked the nation and fundamentally challenged white supremacy in the South. Drawing on film, music and primary sources, the morning session will examine the history of Freedom Summer, its impact, contradictions and legacy. The afternoon session will provide pedagogical tools and strategies for teaching Freedom Summer 1964, and discuss links to the History and Social Sciences Standards of Learning for the Virginia Public Schools. 

Agenda:

• 8:30 – 9:00 Registration and Refreshments
• 9:00 – 9:15 Welcome & Introductions
• 9:15 – 9:35 Session I: New Directions in Teaching Civil Rights History - Derrick P. Alridge – Professor of Leadership, Foundations & Policy, Curry School of Education
• 9:35 – 10:30 Session II: “Freedom is a Constant Struggle”: The Mississippi Project of 1964 - Nicole Burrowes & LaTasha Levy – Fellows, Carter G. Woodson Institute for African-American and African Studies
• 10:30 – 10:45 Break
• 10:45 – 11:35 Session II Continued
• 11:35 – 12:15 Session III: “From Civil Rights to Hip Hop”: Message in the Music - Derrick P. Alridge
• 12:15 – 1:00 Lunch
• 1:00 – 1:30 Session IV: Revising the Narrative: Rethinking Civil Rights Through the Lens of Freedom Summer, Nicole Burrowes and LaTasha Levy
• 1:30 – 2:30 Session V: Pedagogical Applications & the Virginia Standards of Learning - Stephanie Van Hover – Associate Professor, Department Chair of Curriculum, Instruction & Special Education

This program is sponsored by the Center for the Liberal Arts, Carter Woodson Institute for African-American Studies, and Miller Center of Public Affairs

Date: September 20, 2014 - 8:30am

Location: Miller Center, University of Virginia

Athens and America

We offer this workshop to teachers interested in democracy, ancient and modern. We will begin with Athenian democracy, how it was put together structurally, what it thought of itself, and then what ancient contemporary states thought of it. Athens was the first to develop a democracy as we understand it, and, when "power goes to the people," what obligations fall upon "the people" and individual citizens? We will examine this question, a question raised (and answered?) from Plato to Locke and Jefferson and still relevant today.

We want participants to contribute to the discussions with their own knowledge of American democracy, and we also want them to have a chance to raise questions that they may long have had: what was the role of women in the Athenian political and social system? Did the Athenians have gun control? Did Athenians have the right of free speech and free assembly. What were their military obligations? Why did they, in a very democratic process, execute Socrates? We offer an afternoon panel to respond to these kinds of questions and any others you may have and to initiate discussion of them. We don't promise definitive answers, but we are always ready to talk about these things.

Agenda:

• 9:30 - 10:00 Registration
• 10:00 - 11:00 Nuts and Bolts of Athenian Democracy: Illustrated - Jon Mikalson, Professor of Classics, UVA
• 11:00 - 12:00 Athenians and their Democracy, as the Spartans saw them - Ted Lendon, Professor of History, UVA
• 12:00 - 1:00 Lunch
• 1:00 - 2:00 "Consenting to Obey in Ancient and Modern Democracies" - George Klosko, Professor of Politics
• 2:00 - 3:30 How did the Greeks do it? - Panel, attempting to respond to any and all questions about Greek political life, social life, economy, military operations, and other such things.

Date: April 20, 2013 - 9:30am

Location: University of Virginia

Agenda:

• 8:30-9:00 Registration
• 9:00-9:15 Welcome by Sheila Blackford
• 9:15-10:30 "Teaching the American Presidency: Lessons from Mr. Jefferson's Tombstone" by Professor Russell Riley
• 10:30 - 10:45 Break
• 10:45 - 12:00 "Does it Matter Who's President?" by Professor Barbara Perry
• 12:00-1:00 Lunch
• 1:00- 1:30 Introduction to Presidential Classroom by Sheila Blackford
• 1:30- 3:30 Roundtable Discussions - Facilitated by John Baran, Colin Haller, Bonnie Hagerman, Sheila Blackford, Michael Greco

Sponsors: the Miller Center's Presidential Classroom and the Center for the Liberal Arts with Support from The Arthur Vining Davis Foundations Are Proud to Present the The John R. Sims, Jr. Civic Education Symposium

Date: December 8, 2012 - 8:30

Location: Miller Center, University of Virginia

This workshop examines the successes and failures, symbols and images, and historical views of John F. Kennedy's presidency, a half-century after his wife applied the Camelot label to her husband's truncated administration. We will not only examine JFK's one thousand days in office, but also the Kennedy family and the impact of his presidency to the development of the modern executive office.

Agenda:

8:30 - 9:30 Registration

9:30 - 9:45 Welcome and introductions - Sid Milkis and Barbara Perry

9:45 - 11:00 "JFK's Roots: The Kennedy and Fitzgerald Families' Political Dynasty" - Barbara Perry

11:00 - 11:15 Break

11:15 - 12:30 JFK's Foreign Policy - Marc Selverstone

12:30 - 1:30 Lunch

1:30 - 2:45 JFK and the Modern Presidency - Sid Milkis

Sponsors: the Center for the Liberal Arts and Arthur Vining Davis Foundations

Date: April 21, 2012 - 8:30

Location: Miller Center, University of Virginia

• 8:30 - 9:00 Registration and Refreshments
• 9:00 - 9:10 Introductions and Opening Remarks - Bonnie Hagerman, Associate Director of CLA
• 9:20 - 9:30 Film Interview of Julian Bond, Professor of History, UVA; Chair Emeritus, NAACP
• 9:30 - 11:00 Maureen Costello, Teaching Tolerance Director, Southern Poverty Law Center:

• 11:00 - 11:15 Break
• 11:15 - 12:15 Lisa Woolfork, Associate Professor of English, UVA:

"Thanks for The Help?" - Woolfork will discuss the controversies of Kathryn Stockett's novel, The Help, and will explore the implications of those tensions.

• 12:15 - 1:00 Lunch
• 1:00 - 1:50 Kent Germany, Associate Professor of History, Univ. of South Carolina:

• 1:50 - 2:00 Break
• 2:00 - 3:00 Stephanie Van Hover, Associate Professor, Curry School of Education, UVA

Sponsors: Center for the Liberal Arts and the Arthur Vining Davis Foundations

Date: November 19, 2011 - 8:30

Location: Miller Center, University of Virginia

Agenda:

• Monday, July 12 - Replacing France

Herring, America's Longest War, 3 - 87.

McMahon, Major Problems, 1 - 119, 274-283.

• Tuesday, July 13 - Commitment

Herring, America's Longest War, 89 - 129.

McMahon, Major Problems, 12 - 154, 283 - 291

• Wednesday, July 14 - Escalation

Herring, America's Longest War, 131 - 169.

McMahon, Major Problems, 155 - 197.

• Thursday, July 15 - The Big War

Herring, America's Longest War, 171 - 268.

McMahon, Major Problems, 198 - 235, 291 - 356, 401 - 409.

• Friday, July 16 - Vietnamization

Herring, America's Longest War, 271 - 368.

McMahon, Major Problems, 357 - 400, 410 - 435.

• Saturday, July 17 - Legacies

McMahon, Major Problems, 512 - 540.

Group Presentations

Readings

Herring, George C. America's Longest War: The United States and Vietnam, 1950-1975, 4th ed. (New York: McGraw-Hill, 2002), 37. 81.

McMahon, Robert J. Major Problems in the History of the Vietnam War,4th ed. (Houghton Mifflin, 2008), $66.99.

Sponsors: UVA's Center for the Liberal Arts and the Arthur Vining Davis Foundations

Date: July 12, 2010 - July 17, 2010

Location: Miller Center of Public Affairs, University of Virginia

James Blight and Janet Lang, of Brown University's Watson Institute for International Studies, will conduct a day-long workshop on March 21, based on their more than twenty years of research on the presidencies of John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson.

The morning session will focus on the significance of empathy (and its absence) between the Americans and Vietnamese communists, leading to the escalation of the war in Vietnam.

The afternoon session will consider how presidential leadership can lead a nation into war, or keep a nation out of war, by comparing the decision-making of Kennedy. Johnson and George W. Bush. Blight and Lang will draw on several documentary films with which they have recently been involved, including Errol Morris' "The Fog of War" (2004), and Koji Masutani's "Virtual JFK" (2008).

Sponsors: the Center for the Liberal Arts and Arthur Vining Davis Foundations

Date: March 21, 2009 - 8:45

Location: Miller Center University of Virginia

A free program for secondary English and Social Studies teachers 

This hands-on workshop is designed specifically for middle and high school English and History/Social Studies teachers looking to harness the power of generative AI to enhance teaching and learning while mitigating its potential negative impacts on student learning. Through interactive sessions led by experienced educators, participants will explore the fundamentals of AI, its practical applications in the classroom, and strategies for addressing its ethical implications. Whether you're new to AI or already experimenting with its use, this workshop will provide actionable insights and tools to support diverse learners, foster creativity, and promote critical thinking.

Key Highlights:

• Gain a clear understanding of how generative AI works and its role in education.
• Learn how AI tools can support the design of culturally responsive, differentiated instruction.
• Discover practical applications for increasing student engagement and supporting diverse learners.
• Explore innovative ways to integrate AI into learning activities and creative projects while addressing ethical concerns.
• Develop strategies to minimize the potential negative impact of AI on student learning and academic integrity.

Presenters:

Natasha Heny, Assoc. Professor of Education, UVA

Paul Torrey, Asst. Professor of Astronomy, UVA

Dana Little, Asst. Professor of English, Writing and Rhetoric Program, UVA

Alecia Blackwood, Asst. Professor of Education, Longwood University

Agenda:

• 9:30 Registration Opens
• 10:00-10:15 Welcome & Introductions - Natasha Heny & Natsuko Rohde (Center for the Liberal Arts)
• 10:15-10:55 
• "Demystifying Generative AI: How it Works and Its Role in Education" - Paul Torrey - Explore how generative AI functions, its potential applications for teaching and learning, and the challenges it presents in the classroom.
• 10:55-11:35 "AI-Enhanced Instructional Design" - Natasha Heny - Learn how to use AI tools to create differentiated, culturally responsive instruction and enhance curriculum planning.
• 11:35-11:40  Break
• 11:40-12:20  - "Leveraging AI in the Classroom to Support learning" - Alecia Blackwood - Explore practical ways to use AI tools to foster student engagement, enhance critical thinking, and promote deep learning for diverse learners.
• 12:20-1:20 Lunch
• 1:20-2:00 - "Teaching with AI: Creative Applications and Ethical Considerations of AI in the Humanities Classroom" - Dana Little - Discover innovative ways to enhance learning through the integration of AI into writing assignments, creative projects, and classroom activities.
• 2:00-2:10  Break
• 2:10-3:00  "Addressing AI’s Impact on Student Assessment and Academic Integrity" - Panel Discussion: Blackwood, Heny, Little, Torrey - Discuss how to navigate challenges posed by AI in student learning and the evaluation of learning while promoting academic integrity.

Sponsors: The Arthur Vinning Davis Foundations, UVA Center for the Liberal Arts, U.S. National Science Foundation 

Date: March 15, 2024 - 10:00am

Location: UVA Student Health and Wellness, 550 Brandon Avenue, Charlottesville, VA 22908

As K-12 teachers and students grapple with issues of race and justice in history and society, there is value in bringing in perspectives that arise from two areas of contemporary classical studies. On the one hand, there is the place of Africa in the Greco-Roman imaginary, and how regions like Egypt and Ethiopia are involved in ancient constructions of the Other. At the same time, much exciting work is being done on the varied reception of Greek and Roman literature in African American literature and art, ranging from colonial times to today. This workshop will explore these topics via test cases in artistic and historical reflections on Africa, African-American Culture, and the Classics.

The program will include four 30-minute talks, each followed by general discussion, with an opening gathering and breaks, and lunch together. Presenters will include UVA faculty members along with faculty from Howard University and the College of William and Mary.

There will be two funded opportunities for teachers to develop teaching resources to be shared with all participants as a follow-up to the workshop.

Agenda:

9:00 – 9:45  Coffee and Registration

9:45 – 10:45  Inger Kuin, University of Virginia - ‘What does a (Neo-)Classical Poet Look Like? Race and Recognition in the Life and Works of Phillis Wheatley’

10:45 – 11:00  Break

11:00 – 12:00  Najee Olya, College of William and Mary - ‘Africa and the Ancient Mediterranean World: Re-examining the Scholarly Contributions of 20th Century Black Intellectuals’ 

12:00 – 1:00  Lunch 

1:00 – 2:00  John Miller, University of Virginia - ‘Classical Myth in the Poetry of Rita Dove’

2:00 – 2:15  Break

2:15 – 3:15  Caroline Stark, Howard University - ‘Refashioning the Classical Heroine in the Poetry of H. Cordelia Ray’

Sponsors: The Buckner W. Clay Endowment and the Arthur Vining Davis Foundations 

Date: April 13 2024 - 9:00am

Free in-person workshop for teachers

This workshop will share new frameworks and lesson plans for teaching Vietnamese-American literature, particularly in secondary schools.

TLL provides free educational materials to support the teaching of historically underrepresented literatures in K–12 classrooms.

Speakers:

• Sylvia Chong 

Sylvia Chong is Associate Professor of English and American Studies and the Director of the Asian Pacific American Studies minor at the University of Virginia. She is the author of The Oriental Obscene: Violence and Racial Fantasies in the Vietnam Era (Duke University Press, 2012), and co-editor of the anthology (Re)Collecting the Vietnam War (a special issue of the Asian American Literary Review, Fall/Winter 2015). She has a Ph.D. in Rhetoric from UC Berkeley and an A.M. in Education from Stanford University, and has previously taught in public high schools in the San Francisco Bay Area.

• Helen Min 

Helen Min is a Ph.D. candidate and Dean’s Fellow in Curriculum and Instruction at the University of Virginia School of Education and Human Development (UVA) with a research focus on evaluating trauma-sensitive pedagogy, understanding the impact of stress on teacher well-being, and assessing the extent of vicarious trauma on teachers. She taught for six years in Baltimore, MD, Osaka, Japan, and Cairo, Egypt, and received her MS. Ed. from Johns Hopkins University. 

• Joseph Wei 

Joe Wei is a PhD candidate in the English Department at the University of Virginia. His research areas include Asian American literature, critical refugee studies, and poetry and poetics.

• Sarah Winstein-Hibbs 

Sarah Winstein-Hibbs, PhD, is a high school English teacher at the Lehigh Valley Academy Regional Charter school, where she teaches IB courses in writing and literature. Before deciding to switch to high school education, she was an Assistant Teaching Professor of English at Penn State University, where she taught courses on The Graphic Novel, The Rhetoric of Public Memory, and freshman composition. Since 2018, she has served as Co-Director of Research and Analysis for TLL - a role in which she analyzed survey data from 1200+ teachers nationwide and made initial curricular recommendations. Her research on race and American literature has been published in scholarly journals such as American Literary History, American Quarterly, and Multi-Ethnic Literature of the US. In 2021, she received her PhD in American Literature from the University of Virginia, where she also served as Assistant to the Director of Writing. Sarah originally hails from St. Louis, MO, where she used to work as an after-school creative writing and art teacher in the St. Louis city school district.

Agenda:

• 9:30-10:00 Breakfast
• 10:00-10:45 Sylvia Chong, Associate Professor, English and American Studies, U. of Virginia - Introduction and Overview of Vietnamese American Lit and History
• 11:00-11:45

• 11:45-12:45 Lunch break
• 12:45-1:30 Sarah Winstein-Hibbs and Helen Min: Teaching the Graphic Novel The Best We Could Do by Thi Bui: Ch. 1
• 1:45-2:30 Joseph Wei, Ph.D. candidate, English, U. of Virginia - Teaching Spoken Word Poetry by Bao Phi and Poetry by Ocean Vuong
• 2:45-3:00 Sylvia Chong: Resources for Teaching Vietnamese American Lit. in K-8
• 3:00-3:45 Breakout to small groups:  

• 3:45-4:00 Evaluation/Closing Remarks

Date: February 25, 2023 - 5:00 am

Location: University of Virginia Zehmer Hall 104, Midmont Ln, Charlottesville, VA 22903

Speakers:

• Karl Shuve, Associate Professor, Department of Religious Studies, UVA
• Renee Harrison, Associate Professor, African American & U.S. Religious History, Howard University
• Natasha Heller, Associate Professor, Department of Religious Studies, UVA
• Stephanie D. van Hover, Professor, Curry School of Education and Human Development; Chair, Department of Curriculum, Instruction, and Special Education, UVA

Agenda:

• 10:00 - 10:10 Introductions by Martien Halvorson-Taylor, with brief overview of teaching resources provided by Religion, Race & Democracy Lab.
• 10:10 - 10:30 "Religion and the Challenge of Gender Equity in Pluralist Democracies" - Karl Shuve
• 10:30 - 10:45 Q&A session 
• 10:45 - 10:50 Break
• 10:50 - 11:10 "E pluribus unum: Which Religion and Whose Democracy?” - Renee Harrison
• 11:10 - 11:25 Q&A session 
• 11:25 - 11:30 Break
• 11:30 - 11:50 "The Role of Religion in Taiwan's Democratization" - Natasha Heller
• 11:50 - 12:05 Q&A session 
• 12:05 - 12:10 Break
• 12:10 - 12:30 "Frameworks and Resources for Teaching Religion and Democracy" - Prof. Stephanie Van Hover
• 12:30 - 12:35 Break
• 12:35 - 12:50 Breakout rooms 
• 12:50 - 1:00 Break
• 1:00 - 1:15 Evaluations and goodbyes  

Date: October 24, 2020, 10:00 am

Location: Zoom

Through the ages worldwide, the coexistence of different religious systems of thought and religious communities has posed great challenges and opportunities. This workshop for teachers will present three test cases of religious pluralism and religious conflict from classical antiquity and the Middle Ages as a vantage point from which to examine these phenomena and to consider the issues in relation to contemporary conflicts. Examples will be Roman, Etruscan, Jewish, Christian, and Islamic traditions in interaction. After the three presentations by UVA faculty, there will be a general discussion, Dr. Jennifer Sublette, with a view to how these subjects can be treated in the classroom with middle school and high school students both in historical terms and as a mirror for the world today. 

Lunch will be provided.

Speakers:

• Anthony Corbeill, Basil Gildersleeve Professor of Classics, UVA
• Karl Shuve, Associate Professor of Religious Studies, UVA
• Jennifer Sublette, Director of Professional Learning, Albemarle County Public Schools 
• Jessica Andruss, Assistant Professor of Religious Studies, UVA

Agenda:

• 9:00 - 9:45 Registration & Introductions
• 9:45 - 10:45
• ‘Religious Pluralism as a Tool for Political Stability in Republican Rome.’ - Anthony Corbeill. Roman religion could be remarkably welcoming of foreign cults (as with the Anatolian ‘Earth Mother’ in 204 BC) or strongly opposed (as with worship of Bacchus in 186). I will focus on a case of religious syncretism for which we have vivid contemporary evidence: the use of Etruscan prophets (haruspices) by the Roman senate to resolve a seemingly irresolvable political crisis in 56 BC.
• 10:45 - 11:00 Break
• 11:00 - 12:00
• ‘Persecution, Pluralism, and the Challenge of Religious Difference in the Roman Empire.' - Karl Shuve. This presentation will examine the persecution of Christians in the Roman Empire, and consider how this historical example might shed light on challenges posed by religious difference in modern America. We will ask both what led the Romans, who were generally quite tolerant of the worship of foreign deities, to attempt to suppress Christianity, and how the experience of persecution shaped the early Christian movement, leaving a complicated legacy in the West.
• 12:00–1:00 Lunch 
• 1:00 - 2:00 ‘In the Heavens and On the Ground: Muslims, Jews, and Christians in Medieval Jerusalem.’ - Jessica Andruss. This presentation will address religious pluralism in Jerusalem during the early Islamic period (637–1099 CE). I’ll provide background on historical Jewish and Christian attachments to the city before introducing the Islamic elements. My focus will be on a foundational Islamic narrative about the prophet Muhammad’s miraculous “night journey” from Mecca to Jerusalem and his ascent from there through the heavens. The presentation will consider the power of religious narrative in shaping real ‘on the ground’ political and social conditions within a pluralistic society.
• 2:00 - 2:15 Break
• 2:15 - 3:15 General Discussion of pedagogical applications - Jennifer Sublette

Sponsors: The Virginia Center for the Liberal Arts and the UVA Lab in Dissecting Cultural Pluralism

Date: November 16, 2019, 9:00 am

Location: Zehmer Hall, University of Virginia

A Workshop for Virginia High School Teachers at the University of Virginia

This workshop features leading scholars on American Religious History from the Department of Religious Studies at the University of Virginia and is designed to have practical application for the classroom. We will focus on the complex and changing role of religion in American public life and politics and related shifts in the understanding of religious liberty and religious diversity.

Speakers:

• Jennifer Sublette-Williamson, Facilitator, Social Studies, Dept. of Instruction, Albemarle County 
• Heather Warren, Associate Professor
• Kathleen Flake, Bushman Professor of Mormon Studies
• Matthew Hedstrom, Assistant Professor
• Martien Halvorson-Taylor, Associate Professor and Associate Chair

Agenda:

• 9:00 - 9:30 Registration (coffee and tea are provided)
• 9:30 - 9:45 Welcome and Introductions - Martien Halvorson-Taylor
• 9:45 - 10:45 “How Can the U.S. Be ‘The Most Protestant’ and ‘The Most Religiously Diverse’ Society at the Same Time?” - Matthew Hedstrom
• 10:45 - 11:00 Break
• 11:00 - 12:00 “Making Sense of American Church-State Relations in the 21st Century” - Kathleen Flake
• 12:00 - 12:30 Lunch (provided)
• 12:30 - 1:30 “Diversifying American Religious History through Primary Sources: ‘A Bintel Brief,’ Salvation on Sand Mountain, ‘Let It Be,’ and Black Theology and Black Power” - Heather Warren
• 1:30 - 1:45 Break
• 1:45 - 2:45 Pedagogy Session on Religion in American History - Jennifer Sublette-Williamson

Sponsors: The Buckner W. Clay Endowment for the Humanities, the Virginia Center for the Study of Religion & the Center for Liberal Arts

Date: March 1, 2014, 9:00 am

Location: University of Virginia 

Many students are not familiar with the backstories of Latin America's complex and dynamic past beyond the usual suspects in a world-history textbook such as the "triangular trade", the Mexican Revolution, and Simon Bolivar. Three UVA professors expert in Latin American history are ready to explore the region with you. After this one day workshop on 9 November at the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities in Charlottesville, you will be ready to enrich your units on Latin America. Under the sponsorship of the University's Center for the Liberal Arts, professors Herbert Braun, Joe Miller, and Brian Owensby will delve into this fascinating region beyond the surface facts and entertain your further questions. After a truly 'free lunch', Stephanie D. van Hover, Dept. Chair of Curriculum, Instruction and Special Education at UVa, will coordinate participating educators' efforts to build the morning's proceedings (and more) into their curricula.

Sponsors: The Center for the Liberal Arts and Virginia Foundation for the Humanities

Date: November 9, 2013, 4:00 am

Location: Virginia Foundation for the Humanities Conference Room

This workshop features leading scholars on Islam from University of Virginia and is designed to have practical application for the classroom. We will focus on examining Islam in its historical contexts to understand how modern Muslims, in all their diversity, engage with this history in contemporary debates over ethics, religious practices, and gender.

Speakers:

• Martien Halvorson-Taylor, Associate Professor & Associate Chair, Religious
• Ahmed al-Rahim, Assistant Professor, Religious Studies, University of VirginiaStudies 
• Cynthia Hoehler-Fatton, Associate Professor, Religious Studies, University of Virginia
• Sara Omar, Visiting Assistant Professor, Middle Eastern & South Asian Languages & Cultures, University of Virginia 
• Jennifer Sublette-Williamson, Facilitator, Social Studies, Department of Instruction, Albemarle County

Agenda:

• 9:00 - 9:30 Registration (coffee and tea are provided)   
• 9:30 - 9:45 Welcome and Introductions - Martien Halvorson
• 9:45 - 10:45 “Islam as a World Religion: Sacred History, Empire, and Modernity” (and implications for teaching) - Ahmed al-Rahim
• 10:45 - 11:00 Break
• 11:00 - 12:00 “Beyond the Arab Heartland: Islam in Africa” (and implications for teaching) - Cynthia Hoehler-Fatton
• 12:00 - 12:45 Lunch (meal is provided)
• 12:45 - 1:45 “Women in Islam” (and implications for teaching) - Sara Omar
• 1:45 - 2:00 Break
• 2:00 - 3:00 Pedagogy Session on Islam in the Curriculum - Jennifer Sublette-Williamson

Sponsors: The Buckner W. Clay Endowment for the Humanities, the Virginia Center for the Study of Religion & the Center for Liberal Arts 

Date: September 28, 2013, 9:00 am

Location: Jefferson School - African American Heritage Center, 233 4th St NW, Charlottesville, VA 22903

The last three decades have witnessed an explosion of interest in both Jewish-German relations and German Jewish literary and cultural history. Within the United States, growing numbers of course offerings, conference panels (e.g. at the Conferences of German Studies Association [GSA] and the Association for Jewish Studies [AJS]), the founding in 2009 of the biennial Duke University-Carolina Conference on German Jewish Studies and, more recently, its biennial periodical Nexus as well as many other publications, academic and otherwise (books, journal articles and special issues, conference volumes, popular histories, films, etc.) attest to the growth of interest.

In Germany and Austria, one finds at both the popular and academic levels a perhaps even more intense growth of interest attested to by the founding of the Jewish Museum in Berlin, one of the most visited museums in all of Germany, the not always unproblematic fascination with Klezmer Music, film festivals, “Offene Tage der Synagoge” in major cities, as well as the many publications, both scholarly and popular, and various other cultural events throughout both countries. Similarly, the number of universities and institutes focusing on this subject has grown noticeably in the last three decades or so—with the founding of the Hochschule für Jüdische Studien in Heidelberg in the 1979, the Simon-Dubnow-Institut für jüdische Geschichte und Kultur at the University of Leipzig in 1995, the Centrum für Jüdische Studien in Graz in 2000-01, and, in 2011-12, the inter-university Zentrum für Jüdische Studien in Berlin, involving all the Berlin-area universities. Such institutes exist alongside and complement the older, more established institutes for Judaistik and Jüdische Geschichte in places like the Freie Universität Berlin, the Universität Wien or in Hamburg. In so doing, they attest to the widening horizon of interest in “Jewish Studies” across a range of disciplines—from History, Religion and Literary Studies to Art History, Film, Anthropology, Ethnomusicology, Memory Studies, and beyond.

The purpose of this workshop is to introduce some of the key areas of this scholarship and popular interest, to help participants gain a greater sense of the breadth and depth of these fields, the richness of German Jewish culture and past, the complexities of Jewish-German relations today, and the contemporary relevance this subject has in Germany and Austria. 

Speakers:

• Asher Biemann, Associate Professor, Department of Religious Studies, and former Director of Program in Jewish Studies, University of Virginia
• Jennifer Hansen-Glucklich, Visiting Assistant Professor, German Program of the Department of Modern Foreign Languages, University of Mary Washington
• Jeffrey Grossman, Associate Professor of German, University of Virginia
• Joel Rubin, Associate Professor, Director of Music Performance, McIntire of Music, University of Virginia

Agenda:

• 9:00 - 9:30 Registration and Coffee
• 9:30 - 10:15 "Das Italienbild der deutschen Juden" - Asher Biemann
• 10:15 - 11:00 “Klezmer-Musik im Nachkriegsdeutschland” - Joel Rubin
• 11:00 - 11:15 Coffee Break
• 11:15 - 12:00 “Landscapes of Memory: Places and Cultures of Holocaust Memory in Post-War Germany” - Jennifer Hansen-Glucklich
• 12:15 - 1:00 “Die Unentrinnbarkeit von Erinnerung: Juden in  Deutschland und Österreich heute” - Jeffrey Grossman
• 1:00 - 2:00 Lunch
• 2:00 - 3:00 Round-Table Discussion

Date: April 27, 2013, 9:00 am

Location: Zehmer Hall University of Virginia

Presented by Prof. Edward Murphy, Department of Astronomy, UVA

On April 8, 2024, the shadow of the Moon will sweep across the Earth. This will be the last total solar eclipse seen across most of the United States until 2045. The partial phases of the eclipse will be visible throughout Virginia and are well worth watching.

To prepare teachers for the eclipse, the Department of Astronomy and Center for Liberal Arts at the University of Virginia will offer a half day workshop for teachers to learn about the eclipse, to learn how to view it safely, and to learn about the phases of the Moon.

The workshop is open to all K-12 teachers in Virginia. It will be about 4.5 hours long and will include the following topics:

• A description of the 2024 total solar eclipse,
• A summary of what to see during the eclipse,
• A hands-on, outside session on safely viewing the Sun and solar eclipses, and
• A hands-on session on the phases of the Moon (why eclipses occur) to tie into the Standards of Learning.

For participating in the workshop, each teacher will receive a few pairs of safe solar viewing glasses.

Agenda:

• 11:00 - 11:15 Introductions, review schedule for the day
• 11:15 - 12:15 The 2024 Total Solar Eclipse
• 12:15 - 12:45 Lunch
• 12:45 – 1:15 What will you see during the eclipse?
• 1:15 – 2:00 Safely viewing the Sun and solar eclipses (outside, hands-on)
• 2:00 – 2:15 Coffee break
• 2:15 – 3:30 A hands-on session on the phases of the Moon (why eclipses occur)

Prof. Murphy will also be giving a hour long talk about preparing for the eclipse at the UVA Library on February 27 as part of their STEM 4 Everyone series. This is open to anyone at UVA.

Sponsors: The UVA Department of Astronomy and the Arthur Vinning Davis Foundations

Date: March 2, 2024, 11:00 am

Location: McCormick Observatory, 600 McCormick Rd, Charlottesville, VA 22904

"The Solar System" will take place at the John C. Wells Planetarium at James Madison University. This program will include a tour of the solar system and finding the planets in the night sky, inside the planetarium. It will also cover the scale models of the solar system, the geology of the moon, small bodies of the solar system (meteorites, asteroids, comets) and the current and future exploration of the solar system. Professors Ed Murphy (UVA) and Geary Albright (JMU) will specifically address the following standards of learning to help teachers incorporate the content into preparing students for the SOLs.

6.8 - The student will investigate and understand the organization of the solar system and the interactions among the various bodies that comprise it. Key concepts include the following:

• The sun, moon, Earth, other planets and their moons, dwarf planets, meteors, asteroids, and comets;
• Relative size of and distance between planets;
• The role of gravity;
• The unique properties of Earth as a planet;
• The history and technology of space exploration.

ES.3 The student will investigate and understand the characteristics of Earth and the solar system. Key concepts include the following:

• Position of Earth in the solar system;
• Characteristics of the sun, planets and their moons, comets, meteors, and asteroids; and
• The history and contributions of space exploration.

Agenda:

• 8:30 – 9:00 Breakfast & Registration
• 9:00 – 10:30 Geary Albright, JMU - Tour of the Solar System
• 10:30 - 12:00 Ed Murphy, UVA - The geology of the Moon and the 50th anniversary of the Apollo Missions
• 12:00 - 1:00 Lunch
• 1:00 - 2:00 Geary Albright - Small bodies of the Solar system
• 2:00 - 3:00 Ed Murphy - Current and future exploration of the Solar system
• 3:00 - 4:00 Albright and Murphy - SOL Applicable topics

Sponsors: The UVA Department of Astronomy and the Arthur Vinning Davis Foundations.

Date: November 2, 2019, 4:30 pm

Location: James Madison University, John C. Wells Planetarium, 91 E Grace St. Harrisonburg, VA 22807

Professor Edward Murphy of the University of Virginia and Geary Albright of James Madison University will work with teachers on nature-of-science based lessons for understanding the seasons and phases of the moon.The program will address most or all of the following SOLs:

6.8 The student will investigate and understand the organization of the solar system and the interactions among the various bodies that comprise it.

• the sun and moon,
• revolution and rotation; c) the mechanics of day and night and the phases of the moon;
• the relationship of Earth’s tilt and the seasons;
• the cause of tides; and

ES.3 The student will investigate and understand the characteristics of Earth and the solar system.

• sun-Earth-moon relationships;(seasons, tides, and eclipses)

Teachers should plan, if possible, to bring a laptop with them to the session. We will be using a (free) planetarium program called Stellarium to demonstrate the seasons and phases of the Moon. We encourage participants to install Sterllarium before they arrive.

Free continental breakfast and lunch will be provided.

Sponsor: by the Arthur Vining Davis Foundations

Date: November 3, 2018 - 5:00am

Location: UVA Zehmer Hall

On August 21, 2017, the shadow of the Moon will sweep across the Earth, producing the first total solar eclipse visible from the continental United States since 1979. The partial phases of the eclipse will be visible throughout Virginia and are well worth watching.

To prepare teachers for the eclipse, the Department of Astronomy at the University of Virginia, with support from the Virginia Space Grant Consortium, will offer a half day workshop for teachers to learn about the eclipse, to learn how to view it safely, and to learn about the phases of the Moon.

The workshop is open to all K-12 teachers in Virginia. It will be about 4.5 hours long and will include the following topics:

• A description of the 2017 total solar eclipse,
• A summary of what to see during the eclipse,
• A hands-on, outside session on safely viewing the Sun and solar eclipses, and
• A hands-on session on the phases of the Moon (why eclipses occur) to tie into the Standards of Learning.

For participating in the workshop, each teacher will receive a classroom set of 10 safe solar viewing glasses. In addition, we will provide each teacher with a $50 honorarium to offset the cost of their travel to the workshop and to help them purchase additional eclipse viewing materials.

Grounds of the University of Virginia in Charlottesville. and will run from 12:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.

The program will admit the first 40 teachers who register, with a waiting list to include replacements for any who cancel.

Sponsors: The Virginia Space Grant Consortium

Date: July 29, 2017, 8:00 am

Location: McCormick Observatory, 600 McCormick Rd, Charlottesville.

Agenda:

• 8:30 – 9:00 Registration
• 9:00 – 9:15 Welcome by Barry Condron
• 9:15 – 10:30 “Crash course in modern neurobiology” by Professor Barry Condron
• 10:30 – 10:45 Break
• 10:45 – 12:00 “Why teaching neurobiology covers almost everything” by Professor Barry Condron
• 12:00 – 1:00 Lunch
• 1:00 – 1:30 Bring the brain ideas to the classroom by Professor FracksonMumba
• 1:30 – 3:30 Roundtable Discussions – Facilitated by Condron & Mumba 

Date: March 22, 2014, 8:30 am

Location: Jefferson School - African American Heritage Center, 233 4th St NW, Charlottesville, VA 22903.

Desde la migración a la opresión política y el cambio medioambiental, los problemas de hoy cuentan entre los temas más urgentes de la producción cultural en español durante nuestros tiempos. En este taller, vamos a explorar algunas de las maneras en que escritores, artistas, fotógrafos y activistas no solamente nos ayudan a entender el mundo de hoy, sino también intervienen en sus desafíos más grandes. 

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This workshop for secondary school French teachers will provide information and methods for broadening the geographic scope of French courses.

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