Since 1994, the Gilder Lehrman Institute has offered premier professional development for K–12 history teachers through Teacher Seminars. Our seminars have consistently received praise from participating teachers, who value learning from leading scholars to improve their own classroom teaching.
Now in its 27th year, our Teacher Seminars for the first time feature plenary sessions with leading historians.
These weekly discussions feature eminent authors discussing their books:
David Armitage, author of The Declaration of Independence: A Global History
Edward Ayers, author of The Thin Light of
To apply for the Pace–Gilder Lehrman MA in American History Program, click the “To Apply” menu option.
The Summer 2021 semester begins May 27, 2021 and ends August 18, 2021. Registration is open now until June 2, 2021.
Finalized syllabi and book lists are available below for Summer 2021 courses. Contact onlinecourses@gilderlehrman.org for more information.
Click here for the Summer 2021 book list
Legacies of the Age of Revolutions
with Nora Slonimsky, Gardiner Assistant Professor of History, Iona College
As we approach the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution, there are timeless as
Learn about Black Lives in the Founding Era through primary source documents. Each week students will examine a different historical figure—some famous and some little known—and their life, legacy, and accomplishments.
Each class will feature a Hamilton cast member. The goal of this course is to give students an educational experience once a week that includes members of the theater community.
Key Information
The course begins on Tuesday, March 9, 2021.
Classes will occur once a week for eight weeks.
Classes will begin at 7:00 p.m. ET/4:00 p.m. PT.
Weekly classes are 45 minutes in length on
Choose from the Following Themes and Eras
Click on a Teacher Seminar title to see a full description.
Click here to see the seminars listed by date.
Thematic across Eras
African American History since Emancipation (Week of June 14)
Live Sessions
Scholar Session and Historic New Orleans Collection Session: June 14, 1:00–3:15 p.m. ET
Scholar Session and Pedagogy Session: June 15, 1:00–3:15 p.m. ET
Scholar Session and Optional Social Hour: June 16, 1:00–3:00 p.m. ET
Pedagogy Session and Historic New Orleans Collection Session: June 17, 1:00–3:15 p.m. ET
Peniel Joseph, Professor of History,
2021 Teacher Seminars
We are pleased to launch the 2021 Teacher Seminars program. This is the 27th year that the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History is offering teachers the opportunity to study in seminars with eminent American history professors and dive deep into primary sources with master teachers. We will be offering 21 different seminars online this summer from June 14 to August 5, 2021, and for the first time ever, you can register for as many seminars as you like.
Each Teacher Seminar includes the following:
Between 12 and 15 hours of video lectures by leading historians
MP3
The Gilder Lehrman Institute initiative “Black Lives in the Founding Era” restores to view the lives and works of a wide array of African Americans in the period 1760 to 1800, drawing on our archive of historical documents and our network of scholars and master teachers.
Highlighted in this weekly news post are programs, resources, and other matter related to Black Lives in Founding Era.
Black Lives in the Founding Era News, Week 6
In his 1964 book Why We Can’t Wait, Martin Luther King Jr. writes of Black schoolchildren knowing, beyond what is written in their textbooks, that “the first
Two “superpowers”—the United States and the Soviet Union—emerged from the devastation of World War II. Mistrust, fear, and deep ideological differences between the two nations led to a Cold War that lasted more than forty years. The geopolitical struggle, and the underlying threat of nuclear confrontation, drew in much of the world, directly and indirectly, and had wide-ranging consequences at home and abroad. This course will provide an overview of the origins and consequences of the Cold War both globally and domestically, spanning from the end of World War II through the collapse of the
The Gilder Lehrman Lincoln Prize, sponsored by the Gilder Lehrman Institute and Gettysburg College, is awarded annually for the finest scholarly work in English on Abraham Lincoln, the American Civil War soldier, or the American Civil War era. The $50,000 Lincoln Prize was established in 1990 by Richard Gilder and Lewis E. Lehrman, in partnership with Dr. Gabor Boritt, Director Emeritus of the Civil War Institute at Gettysburg College.
The Prize will generally go to a book but in rare instances an important article or essay might be honored. When studies competing for the Prize show similar
This course will introduce students to the final three time periods (1890–Present) covered by the College Board’s AP United States History curriculum. Students will use the Gilder Lehrman Institute’s APUSH Study Guide and primary source documents to discuss major historical topics. Additionally, this course will focus on strategies for reading and writing that will prove essential for any student planning to take the APUSH exam during the 2020–2021 school year. The aim is to enable students to get the highest possible score on the exam and to come away with the deepest understanding of
Watch "A Tribute to Teachers"
Join us in gratitude for teachers everywhere—the lifeblood of the educational system, and true heroes during this unprecedented year.
Lin-Manuel Miranda will present the 2020 National History Teacher of the Year award, and we will hear from historians, teachers, and students about the profound and lasting influence teachers have had on their lives.
We make it our mission to support teachers every day at the Gilder Lehrman Institute. We responded to COVID-19 by rapidly adapting our programming so we could serve teachers remotely during this crisis. As we head
Ignored for generations, American Indian history has recently become among the most dynamic fields of historical inquiry. As scholars now recognize, Indian peoples have fundamentally shaped and defined the modern world. From the founding of the first European settlements in North America to continuing debates over the meanings of American democracy, Indian history remains integral to understanding of US history and culture. This course introduces this complex and often ignored field of study.
COURSE CONTENT
Twelve seminar sessions led by Professor Ned Blackhawk
Primary source readings that
In partnership with World101 from the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), we are pleased to offer four free digital professional development sessions on Zoom in spring 2021. These sessions will cover various aspects of the history of American foreign policy and diplomacy. Each session will include
A lecture by an eminent historian in the field
A pedagogical session led by a Gilder Lehrman Master Teacher
Free classroom materials, including digital-friendly lesson plans made for each session
A Certificate of Attendance and (when applicable) CTLE Letter
Below you will find the list of dates and
This course focuses on African American women’s history in the United States with certain aspects of black women’s activism and leadership covered within the African Diaspora. We will examine ways in which these women engaged in local, national, and international freedom struggles while simultaneously defining their identities as wives, mothers, leaders, citizens, and workers.
The course will pay special attention to the diversity of black women’s experiences and to the dominant images of black women from Mumbet (the first enslaved black woman to sue for her freedom and win) to contemporary
The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History is excited to share its archive of Hamilton Cast Read Alongs. Hamilton Cast Read Alongs is a program that features Hamilton cast members reading award-winning children’s books followed by a discussion of the history behind the story led by Gilder Lehrman Master Teacher Keisha Rembert.
A new Read Along session will be posted each week. This week’s Read Along session can be found here.
A full list of Read Along sessions can be found below.
If you have any questions, please email hamilton@gilderlehrman.org
Widely considered a wellspring for US greatness, immigration has also been an abiding site of our deepest conflicts. The republican foundation of the United States, with its promises of democracy and equality for all, seems to strain against the high numbers of immigrants from parts of the world barely imagined by the Founding Fathers, much less as sources of new citizens.
What is the breaking point for the assimilating powers of US democracy, and how much does national vitality rely upon a continued influx of diverse immigrants with their strenuous ambitions and resourcefulness? Today we
This course, part of the Gilder Lehrman Self-Paced Course series, explores the struggles and achievements of major groups who journeyed to a new home in the United States, including Irish, Italian, Jewish, Asian, and Latino Americans.
Historian Vincent Cannato, author of the acclaimed American Passage: The History of Ellis Island, leads a consideration of questions involving exclusion and inclusion; patterns of settlement; questions of race, gender, and ethnicity; and the evolution of federal government policy.
COURSE CONTENT
Five seminar sessions led by Professor Cannato, which can be
Gilder Lehrman Book Breaks features the most exciting history scholars in America discussing their books live with host William Roka, followed by a Q&A with home audiences.
Every Sunday at 2 p.m. ET.
Student Question Submission Competition
Middle and high school students (age 13 and up), submit your questions for one of the historians being featured on Book Breaks. If your question is chosen, it will be announced live on the program and in recognition you and your teacher will each win a $50 gift certificate to the Gilder Lehrman Gift Shop! Your question can be about the book or the topic
Board of Trustees
Co-ChairmenRichard Gilder (1932–2020)Lewis E. Lehrman
Edward L. AyersS. Andrew BanksJames G. BaskerJohn D. Britton IIAlysha ButlerRobert C. DaumJoseph DiMennaPatrick DuffRegina GannonHenry Louis Gates, Jr.Annette Gordon-ReedAllen C. Guelzo
Elizabeth Herbst-BradyThomas P. HirschfeldGladstone N. Jones, IIIDaniel P. JordanThomas D. LehrmanMichael McCormickDavid McCullough, Life TrusteeJohn L. Nau IIIRobert H. NiehausRussell P. PennoyerVictoria PhillipsWilliam J. PoorvuShaiza RizaviValerie RockefellerMary Caslin RossMark ShafirDorothy (Debbie) StapletonLuz Towns-Miranda
Janice
Elizabeth Herbst-Brady is a business leader with over twenty-five years of experience in sales, marketing, and management. An innovative media professional, Elizabeth has a proven track record of achieving goals through simplifying the complex, cutting through the noise, and driving transformation across multiple functions and teams. Currently, Elizabeth is Vice President, Head of North American Revenue & Global Client Solutions at Verizon Media. In this position, she manages Verizon Media’s US and Canadian sales organizations in addition to global teams such as Agency Partnerships and
Janice Ugaki is the Co-Founder and Chair of Firmseek, an award-winning strategic marketing and technology company based in Washington, DC. Over the past twenty-one years, Janice has grown the company from an idea to one of the leading website and digital marketing companies in the US. Firmseek specializes in the professional services industry and has won over 350 national and international digital marketing awards. Outside of work, Janice currently serves as the Co-President of the 2,300-member Association of American Rhodes Scholars. She is also an Adjunct Professor at the University of Utah
The US Constitution has been the bedrock of American government since it was first conceived in 1787, but it is far from a rigid document set in a bygone era. The founders designed it to evolve with the nation, and for more than 230 years, Americans have debated and amended the Constitution’s parameters to achieve the goal of “a more perfect union.” This course will focus on key aspects of the Constitution, the government it establishes, the freedoms it gives, and the questions it poses. Key topics will include free speech, freedom of and from religion, voting, and cruel and unusual
