We are excited that the project’s third summer institute for secondary school educators happens this month—and it couldn’t be more timely or necessary! Teaching Conviction, Humility, and “the Facts” in the American Studies Classroom will provide an opportunity for teachers of American Studies and affiliated disciplines to come together during the week of July 23-27, 2018, for intensive engagement with the concepts and practices of Intellectual Humility, to learn new methods for guiding students in productive and intellectually diverse dialogues about American culture, history & politics, and to examine a set of case studies and generate new possibilities for future lessons.  While working with leading scholars of intellectual humility, truth & virtue in public life, and American Studies, this institute is also an opportunity for collaboration and community building among teachers from around the state.

 

In addition to the institute’s director, Micki McElya (Prof. of History, UConn), and co-convener, Sandra Sirota (HCPL Postdoctoral Researcher), our exciting lineup of scholars includes:

 

Heather Battaly, HCPL Advisory Board member and Professor of Philosophy, UConn, on teaching the epistemology and ethics of virtue.

 

Michael P. Lynch, HCPL Project Principal Investigator, Director of the UConn Humanities Institute, and Professor of Philosophy, on truth, democracy, and the state of public discourse in contemporary U.S. politics, culture, and classrooms.

 

Bonnie Miller, Associate Professor of American Studies, UMass Boston, on the longer histories of “fake news,” public opinion, the press, and the Spanish-American War of 1898.

 

Christopher Vials, Director of American Studies and Associate Professor of English, UConn, on the current state of the field and teaching about fascism through American Studies.

 

 

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