Center receives NEH grant for summer teacher workshops

By Erika Mantz, Media Relations

UNH’s Center for New England Culture recently received one of only 17 grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities for Landmarks of American History teacher workshops to be held this summer at historic and cultural sites across the United States.

Landmarks of American History workshops are offered by the NEH as part of the endowment’s “We the People” initiative to encourage and strengthen the teaching, study and understanding of American history and culture. UNH’s “Landmark Events in Portsmouth, N.H., and the Transformation of American Identity, 1765-1800 and 1890-1920” is supported 100 percent by the $140,204 NEH grant.

“The award confirms the significance of the Center for New England Culture’s leadership in the study of the region and strengthens its continuing efforts in teacher education,” says David Watters, director of the center.

He also noted that the grant inaugurates a partnership with Strawbery Banke Museum and other historic sites in Portsmouth.
A total of 100 K-12 educators from across the nation will participate, 50 in each of two one-week sessions in July. The sessions are designed to give teachers experience in the interpretation of significant historical sites and the use of archival and other primary historical evidence.

Public, private and home school elementary and secondary educators are invited to apply by March 15. Teachers selected to participate will receive a stipend of $500 each to help defray the cost of transportation, books and living expenses.

For more information or to request an application contact David Watters at 2-0353 or david.watters@unh.edu.