Also in this Section: About the Workshop How To Apply While You're In Hartford

Teachers workshop 2007 Classroom lecture Hilton Hotel, Hartford

About the Workshop

The workshop itself features the presentations of several preeminent Twain and Gilded Age scholars. The combined expertise of this distinguished faculty affords teachers an outstanding opportunity to enhance their understanding of Mark Twain's legacy.

• Dr. Eugene Leach is Professor of History and American Studies at Trinity College in Hartford, CT. Dr. Leach's Monday afternoon presentation Race and the Gilded Age will explore race relations in the late 19th century in terms of their impact on Hartford's Nook Farm residents and their social activism.
• Dr. Peter Baldwin is Associate Professor of History at the University of Connecticut. His Tuesday morning presentation Blessed with a Vision of Refreshing Green- Lives of Comfort in 19th Century Hartford will provide teachers with an overview of Hartford during Twain's residence here and the socio-economic trends of the period, especially with regard to how the city adjusted to the rival demands for living space made by its increasingly diverse population.
• Dr. Kerry Driscoll is Professor of English at Saint Joseph College in West Hartford, CT., and the Executive Coordinator of the Mark Twain Circle of America. On Tuesday afternoon she will discuss The Origins of Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and introduce Twain's masterpiece by exploring its personal, creative, and socio-historical roots derived from the rich life of the author himself.
• Dr. John Bird is Associate Professor of English at Winthrop University in South Carolina. Dr. Bird's only appearance will be during the first week of July 13-17. On Wednesday morning he will present The Use of Dialect in Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, which will examine the historical and theoretical background of literary dialect, and provide teachers with tools to teach the novel by dealing directly with the issues created by race and language.
• Dr. Robert Hirst is the General Editor of the Mark Twain Project at the University of California - Berkeley (UCB), as well as Curator of the Mark Twain Papers at the UCB Bancroft Library, and Professor of English at UCB. Dr. Hirst will only appear during the second week of July 27-31. On Wednesday morning he will present Mark Twain on Racism- Evidence from the Manuscript of Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and Other Documents, which will use Twain's own notes and drafts to reveal his evolving views on racial issues in America during the Gilded Age.
• Dr. Ann Ryan is Associate Professor of English at LeMoyne College in Syracuse, NY and Editor of The Mark Twain Annual. Her presentation on Wednesday afternoon of Mark Twain's Urban Identity will analyze the years that Twain lived in urban and cosmopolitan centers around the world, including the flourishing city of Hartford, and the impact that his urban experiences had on his work.
• Dr. Douglas Egerton is Assistant Professor of History at LeMoyne College. Dr. Egerton's presentation Mark Twain's South will follow Dr. Ryan's presentation on Wednesday afternoon, and will focus on the South during Mark Twain's youth, examining the distinctive forms of slavery that were prevalent in Missouri and the issue of miscegenation, both as a historical fact and as a topic for mythmaking in both the North and South.
• Dr. Steven Railton is Professor of English at the University of Virginia and creator of the website Mark Twain and His Times. His only appearance will be on Thursday morning during the first session of July 13-17. Dr. Railton will present Huckleberry Finn- Classrooms and Controversy, which provides teachers with strategies for dealing with the challenges presented by the book, and will put special emphasis on the use of resources available on the internet.
• Dr. David Smith is professor of English at Williams College in MA. Dr. Smith's only appearance will be on Thursday morning during the second session of July 26-31. Dr. Smith will present Race and Huckleberry Finn, which examines the history of racial controversies that have arisen because of the book, and discusses effective strategies for teaching these sensitive topics to increasingly diverse students in today's classrooms.
• Dr. Michael Kiskis is Professor of American Literature at Elmira College in NY and past president of the Mark Twain Circle of America. On Friday morning, Dr. Kiskis will present Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and Mark Twain- How Biography and Criticism Reshape Our Reading, which explores the intersection of Twain's biography and criticism, and considers how our understanding of Twain's life and times, as well as our own contemporary critical perspective, shapes our views of Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.
• Steven Courtney is a retired reporter and editor for the Hartford Courant who recently published a book called Joseph Hopkins Twichell- The Life and Times of Mark Twain's Closest Friend. On Thursday evening, Mr. Courtney will discuss the pivotal relationship in Twain's life with the long-serving pastor of Asylum Hill Congregational Church in Hartford, revealing the impact that this friendship had on Twain's work.

Workshop Requirements

The culmination of your work with this exceptional slate of scholars will be your creation of a Twain-related lesson plan that you can use in your classroom. Your lesson will be written according to an "Understanding by Design" (UBD) instructional unit model done in consultation with me and Dr. William Silva, another veteran high school social studies teacher with extensive professional experience in curriculum development. To insure that you derive the maximum benefit from our program, you will be provided with a binder of readings and related materials at the start of the workshop, and you will be expected to have completed the appropriate reading assignment prior to each day's presentations. Obviously it will be essential for you to have read, or perhaps to have re-read Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, and you may want to get started on it soon.

Housing:

We have reserved rooms at the Hilton Hotel in Hartford, CT, at a rate of $99 per night for single/double occupancy. http://www1.hilton.com/en_US/hi/hotel/HFDHHHF-Hilton-Hartford-Connecticut/index.do While you might wish to bring family members to Hartford, you must understand that they will not be participants in the workshop sessions that you are required to attend, and you will be responsible for making separate accommodation arrangements for them. The Hilton Hotel is just a five-minute drive from the Mark Twain House, and a daily round-trip shuttle bus will be provided for participants who choose to stay at the Hilton Hotel.

STIPEND, TENURE, AND CONDITIONS OF AWARD

All participants will receive a stipend of $750 at the end of the workshop to help cover expenses for meals and accommodations. A continental breakfast and lunch will be provided daily during the workshop, but dinner is to be arranged by each participant on their own. A bus to Bradley Airport will also be available at the end of the week. http://www.bradleyairport.com/home/ Of course, participants have the option of commuting to the workshop from home or arranging for other accommodations on their own. A modest travel subsidy is also available from which expenses will be partially paid on a case-by-case basis after the workshop has ended. Teachers traveling to Hartford by air will be given first priority for this financial assistance.

Workshop participants are required to attend all scheduled meetings and to engage fully in all project activities. Participants who do not complete the full tenure of the project will receive a reduced stipend.

Participants will provide NEH with an assessment of their Workshop experience, especially in terms of its value to their personal and professional development. You will be asked to provide a confidential online evaluation at the close of the Workshop.

Professional Credit:

The Mark Twain House & Museum is authorized by the state of Connecticut Department of Education to issue Continuing Education Units (CEU's) to Connecticut teachers participating in this institute. All CEU certificates will be issued at the end of the workshop. Teachers from other states should consult their own state's Department of Education to determine whether Connecticut CEU's have any transferable value, and if so, they too can request a CEU certificate at the end of the institute.