Picturing America Summer Institute

FAIN: BA-50019-09

Minneapolis Institute of Arts (Minneapolis, MN 55404-3506)
Kathryn C. Johnson (Project Director: January 2009 to March 2010)

The applicant requested a Chairman's grant of $20,905 to run a one-day teacher training institute that focuses on the images and themes of Picturing America (PA), together with the PA Teachers Resource Book. The institute, to take place in late June or early July 2009, will serve 100 teachers from the Minneapolis public schools, which have adopted PA system-wide, as well as teachers from PA-adopting private, charter, church, and home schools in the Twin Cities and upper Midwest. The teachers will be drawn from arts, humanities, and social studies fields, with the goal of advancing instruction in American history, civics, government, literature, and culture. The distinguished American collection of the Minneapolis Institute of Arts will receive attention for its relevance to the PA portfolio; however, the primary emphasis and the majority of time will be spent on actual PA reproductions and the Teachers Resource Book. The institute presenters, who are well-established humanities scholars at local universities, will impart rich humanities content and background knowledge to participants. Training in basic visual analysis of art objects will be included. The themes of Picturing America-Leadership, Freedom and Equality, Democracy, Courage, Landscape, Creativity and Ingenuity-will inform presentations and discussions; and the institute will devote approximately equal attention to works from the several centuries. The NEH Chairman's Grant of $20,905 will cover the total budget for running this institute, including modest teacher stipends and working lunches, speakers' honoraria, and museum staff and facilities.

In accordance with the NEH Picturing America Chairman's criteria, the MIA proposes a one-day training institute that will engage up to 100 teachers with Picturing America resources, scholars, from the Twin Cities academic community, and strategies for integration of digital resources in the classroom and visual literacy enrichment.