HITS Workshop Opportunities for 2007-2008

September 27, 2007 - Minnesota Historical Society
Introduction to History Day
This course is for teachers who would like to implement History Day in their classroom or learn the skills of History Day.

October 4, 2007 - Minnesota Historical Society
Advanced History Day
This course is for teachers who have completed the Intro. to History Day who wish to expand their skills working with the program in their classroom. » Photo Gallery

October 11, 2007 - Anderson Library, U of MN
America as Empire
This workshop will explore key topics in the United States' global presence, particularly in the Americas and Europe. Our investigation of "America as empire" will include the Age of Empires and Exploration with a special introduction to a very rare 1507 map housed in the University of Minnesota's James Ford Bell Library: the first map to use the name "America" to describe what is now North and South America. Professor Patrick McNamara will then examine the dynamics of US-Mexico border battles from the 1840s to today. In a second session, Professor McNamara will discuss the Spanish-American War and US intervention in Cuba, tracing US-Cuban relations from the late 19th century to the present. The final session of this workshop will focus on the United States' presence as a powerful political, economic, and cultural force in the post-World War II era, as Professor Tom Wolfe explores the geopolitical empire in Cold War Europe and the US-USSR competition for international influence. » Workshop Resources » Related Lesson Plan

December 6, 2007 - Andersen Library, U of MN
American Law & Sovereignty and Human Rights in an International Context
This workshop will explore the United States’ evolving efforts to define and determine the boundaries of international law, sovereignty, and human rights. Professor Barbara Frey, of Global Studies and Holocaust and Genocide Studies and the Director of the Human Rights Program at the University of Minnesota, will offer an historical overview of the United States’ leadership in the United Nations and its experience with the cause of international human rights. Her discussion will offer an explanation of and insights into the UN’s "Universal Declaration of Human Rights," and will address the United States’ complicated presence in contemporary international human rights issues. Regents Professor Kathryn Sikkink, of the Department of Political Science, will then continue the discussion of international human rights. Sikkink, an internationally known expert on human rights policy, will focus specifically on human rights trials and law. David E. Wilkins, Professor of American Indian Studies, Political Science, and Law, will conclude the day with a session on American Indian law and sovereignty. In examining the concept of "sovereignty," Wilkins will explore how indigenous peoples in the United States and other places around the world have and have not been viewed as sovereign, international entities.
» Follow-up: Citations, PowerPoints, Remarks, & Resources

February 7, 2008 - Training Room, 1001 Johnson Parkway
American Social Movements within a Global Context
This workshop will investigate how a variety of social movements that profoundly shaped and affected American politics and society simultaneously had an effect on and were shaped by international contexts. Beginning with historian of American slavery and abolition, Professor James Brewer Stewart, of Macalester College, we will explore the international origins and development of the nineteenth-century anti-slavery movement. University of Minnesota Assistant Professor of History Malinda Lindquist will then carry our exploration of racial and social justice movements into the twentieth century with a focus on the international connections of American civil rights activist W.E.B. Du Bois. Later in the day, University of Minnesota Assistant Professor of History Kevin Murphy will offer an historical overview of American gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender (GLBT) social movements within a broader global context. University of Minnesota Regents Professor of History, Sara Evans, will conclude our discussion with a look at the role of the American women’s movement in the development of international women’s rights movements in the late twentieth century. » Workshop Follow-ups » Photo Gallery

Friday, May 9, 2008 - MHS fieldtrip to the North West Company Fur Post in Pine City and the Forest History Center in Grand Rapids
Furs and Forests: The role of Natural Resources in shaping Minnesota and American History
With the arrival of the first europeans in the upper Mississippit watershed, the history of what was to become Minnesota was shaped by the exploitation of natural resources. For nearly 300 years, the fur trade and forest industries defined the fundamental realtionships between whites and Indians. The economic relationships of the fur trade connected Minnesota to international trade and the geo-politics of colonial North America. The rise of the lumbering era saw a shift away from trading relationships where each culture foound mutual benefit. Treaties rapidly transformed the landscape of northern Minnesota as they opened up the pine forests for logging and moved Indian communities onto reservations. The Minnesota Historical Society's north West Company Fur Post and Forest History Center present these stories with state of the art museums and living history sites. Participants will have the opportunity to visit an 18th century trading post and learn about the cultural and economic importance of the beaver trade on white and native communities. Teachers will also explore a turn-of-the century logging camp and experience the sights and sounds of the lumberjacks who provided the raw material that would help build the nation.

Participants will leave 1001 Johnson Parkway at 7:30 a.m. on May 9 and travel via coach bus to the North West Company Fur post in Pine City. They will leave for Grand Rapids at 11:30 a.m. with a stop along the way for lunch and arrive at the Forest History Center about 2:30 p.m. Teachers will experience a Lumberjack dinner before departing for St. Paul about 6:00 p.m. with estimated arrival time between 9-9:30 p.m.

August 11 - 15, 2008
HITS SUMMER INSTITUTE
The Changing Role of America in the World
A week-long institute that will be held in the Training Room at 1001 Johnson Parkway. » Workshop Information & Lesson Plans