The four-week seminar will be led by James Akerman (a geographer and Director of the Smith Center) and Diane Dillon (an art historian and Director of Scholarly and Undergraduate Programs). Participating teachers will explore how maps and art collectively shaped ideas about space, landscape, natural history, ethnography, commerce, and politics in the Americas. They will challenge received ideas about mapping and art in ways that will enhance their development as teachers and scholars. In addition to reading and discussing recent scholarship, participating summer scholars will study a wide range of original maps and art in group settings. They will enhance their research skills by pursuing individual projects making use of the Newberry's rich holdings of cartography, geography, art, history, literature, and the history of printing from the 15th to the 21st centuries. While emphasizing objects relevant to teaching the history and culture of the Americas, the broad arc of seminar topics will promote the development of skills and insights relevant to a wide range of K-12 curricula, embracing social studies, science, mathematics, literature, and, of course, geography and art.

Applications are encouraged from primary and secondary school teachers specializing in a wide variety of classroom subjects (including the social sciences and sciences as well as the humanities) and teaching at all grade levels. No particular knowledge of cartography or art is required. A limited number of spaces are also available for full-time graduate students who intend to pursue careers in K-12 teaching.

For more information on the seminar and how to apply, please visit at http://www.newberry.org/smith/envisioningamerica.html or contact Will Gosner at gosnerw@newberry.org or 312-255-3659.