2023 Summer Professional Development

Six Great Ways to Learn with the Gilder Lehrman Institute This Summer

Twenty-three programs | Online and In-Person | Topics across American history

  • Online
Madeline Hsu delivering a lecture as part of Chinese in the United States, one of twelve Teacher Seminars on offer this summer.

Teacher Seminars (Online)

Twelve seminars available and you can sign up for as many as you like.

Click here to learn more.

  • The George Washington University
  • July 9–22
Tourists at Lincoln Memorial

The Making of America

K–8 teachers: explore American origins at this two-week NEH Summer Institute.

Click here to learn more.

  • Gettysburg College
  • July 16–19
Photo courtesy Mark J. Westpfaul

The Gilder Lehrman Teacher Symposium

Choose from seven exciting courses.

Click here to learn more.

 

  • In-Person or Online
  • July 16–21
Princeton University

Statesmanship in American History

Hosted and funded by the generosity of the James Madison Program in American Ideals and Institutions at Princeton University, this seminar will allow up to 20 high school teachers to participate in a weeklong professional development on the study of statecraft.

  • In-Person or Online
  • July 23–28
The Old State House in Springfield, IL

Reframing Lincoln Seminar: Myth, Memory, and Changing Narratives

Funded by the generosity of an anonymous donor, this seminar will allow up to 25 K–12 teachers to focus on how to study Lincoln as a myth, a man, and a president at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum in Springfield, IL. The scholar’s lectures will also be live-streamed to any interested K–12 teachers.

  • In-Person or Online
  • July 31-Aug 4
Nixon Library

United States Foreign Policy, 1898 to Present

Funded by the generosity of the Richard Nixon Foundation, this seminar will allow up to 40 K–12 teachers to participate in a weeklong professional development focused on United States foreign policy from 1898 to the present. The event will be held on-site at the Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum. The scholar’s lectures will also be live-streamed to any interested K–12 teachers.

 


The Gilder Lehrman Teacher Symposium at Gettysburg College

Sunday, July 16 through Wednesday, July 19, 2023 at Gettysburg College in Pennsylvania

Teacher Symposium logo
Historic Cannon at Gettysburg Battlefield
Photo courtesy Mark J. Westpfaul
Historic Brick Building at Gettysburg College

Symposium participants will enjoy:

  • Opening remarks by Gary Gallagher
  • Program-wide book talks with participating scholars
  • Networking opportunities with teachers from across the country
  • Access to the GLI Exhibition Hall, where teachers can learn about Gilder Lehrman programs
  • Special events including and a field trip to the Gettysburg Battlefield and trivia night

Courses feature:

  • Lectures by prominent scholars
  • Up to 22 hours of PD credit and a certificate confirming completed hours/CEUs for the Symposium
  • Pedagogy sessions led by a Gilder Lehrman Master Teacher
  • Recommended readings and resources from scholars
  • Gilder Lehrman classroom resources 
Registration for the Teacher Symposium has closed

Gilder Lehrman Teacher Seminars Online

June 26–August 3

Madeline Hsu delivering a lecture as part of Chinese in the United States, one of twelve Teacher Seminars on offer this summer.
Kellie Carter Jackson delivering a lecture as part of the Black Women's History seminar
Margaret O'Mara lecturing as part of the Making Modern America seminar

Seminar participants will enjoy:

  • 3 live scholar Q&A sessions
  • 2 live pedagogy sessions led by Gilder Lehrman Master Teachers
  • 1 live session for open discussion and networking with peers
  • Between 9 and 15 hours of video lectures by leading historians
  • Selected primary sources, lesson plans, spotlights from the Gilder Lehrman Collection, and other classroom-ready resources
  • A certificate confirming completed hours/CEUs for the seminar (upon successful completion of seminar requirements)

New seminars for 2023 include:

  • American Indian History since 1900, with Donald L. Fixico (Arizona State University)
  • The History of Latina and Latino People in the US, with Geraldo L. Cadava (Northwestern University)
  • Making Modern America: Business & Politics in the Twentieth Century, with Margaret O'Mara (University of Washington)
  • Presidential Leadership at Historic Crossroads with Barbara A. Perry (University of Virginia)
Teachers are welcome and encouraged to register for as many seminars as they like.

The Making of America: Colonial Era to Reconstruction

The George Washington University, July 9–22

Application closed on March 3, 2023, at 11:59 p.m. PT

The Making of America: Colonial Era to Reconstruction will offer 36 educators the opportunity to explore the people, ideas, and events that made America into a cultural, social, and political reality. Directed by Denver Brunsman (The George Washington University), featuring an array of esteemed scholars as guest instructors, this Institute is designed as purposefully broad to address the needs of K–8 educators through lectures, discussions, and visits to historic sites across the Washington, DC area.

The Making of America: Colonial Era to Reconstruction has been made possible in part by a major grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities: Summer Institutes for K–12 Educators. Any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this webpage and program, do not necessarily represent those of the National Endowment for the Humanities.

The National Endowment for the Humanities and The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History together: Democracy demands wisdom.

Participants will receive a stipend of $2,200 to cover housing, meals, and travel.

Gilder Lehrman Summer Professional Development is made possible with the support of our partners:

National Endowment for the Humanities Logo
Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum
James Madison Program Logo
Richard Nixon Foundation logo
American Jewish Historical Society
Hingham Historical Society logo
National Civil Rights Museum logo
Sixth Floor Museum Logo
American Civil War Museum logo
Angel Island Immigration Station Foundation logo
Echoes & Reflections logo
Historic New Orleans Collection logo
National World War I Museum and Memorial logo
USS Midway Museum logo