2008 Summer Institute Registration Begins

Summer Institute topics for 2008 have been announced and registration is now open.

Partnership educators, please call or email the contact person for your district and let them know you are interested in the program. Upon approval from your district, Primary Source will contact you with instructions for online registration. Non-partnership educators, space is limited. Please send your registration request to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Registration deadline is April 25, 2008.

2008 Primary Source Summer Institutes

The Silk Roads: Arteries of Trade, Avenues of Cultures
From antiquity to today, the Silk Roads have linked together the cultures, economies, and histories of China, India, Central Asia and the Middle East, and Europe. Educators will investigate a wide range of historical themes including the dissemination of Buddhism, the expansion of Islam, relations between nomads and sedentary peoples, and the movement of inventions and artistic styles along trade routes.

Japanese Culture: History, Identity and Influence
Who are the Japanese and how has their identity shaped their culture? In this new course we will explore modern Japan’s history, literature, religions, visual arts, and music.

Pushing for Progress in the Time of Jim Crow: African-American History, 1890-1940
The fifty years before World War II constituted a particularly challenging and galvanizing period for African-Americans. Historical events and literary responses of the time will receive equal attention in this humanities-oriented course.

U.S. Expansion and Connections to the World in Antebellum America
In the antebellum period, American reformers embodied idealism and dreamt of change. This course will look at the myriad causes they championed (such as abolition, temperance, and women's rights) and ways they exchanged strategies with reformers abroad to achieve their goals.

Massachusetts History (1620-1812) for Elementary Schools
How was life organized in Massachusetts from pre-colonial and early colonial times to the early Republic, and how did ideas and experiences change over the period? This course will focus on themes featured in U.S. history curricula for elementary grades.

Teaching for Global Understanding in the 21st Century
Educators are increasingly aware that the challenges of our changing world will require students to think and learn in new ways. Participants will examine the global economy, the environment, health, social justice, and the movement of peoples and cultures around the globe.