Historians Teaching History: What Works and What Needs Work? May 28

Registration is now open for the one-day symposium Historians Teaching History: What Works and What Needs Work that will take place on May 28, 2016 at Mount Royal University in Calgary, Alberta (on the Saturday prior to the meeting of the Canadian Historical Association at Congress). 

Most academic historians teach history in post-secondary classrooms.  Within the profession, however, the majority of publications and symposia focus on historians’ production of knowledge as scholars rather than their dissemination of knowledge as educators.  Historians Teaching History will explore the bridges and relationships between these professional roles and will address a wide variety of topics: whether university-level history is being taught effectively and what opportunities there are for improvement; students’ expectations and what instructors expect from them; and what knowledge and which skills should be priorities for teachers of history in the 21st century.

The workshop will commence with an opening plenary on Canadian history survey courses, textbooks, and the state of historical instruction in post-secondary institutions. Workshop participants will then be able to attend sessions on topics such as Student Engagement and Activities, Indigenizing the Classroom, Enhancing Students’ Skills, the Place of Class in Class, What Historians Can Learn from Educators about Teaching History, and Innovative Teaching Techniques. “Pints and Pedagogies,” the final session of the day, will ask participants to share course outlines, assignments and the like, while reflecting upon best practices in the post-secondary classroom. This daylong event will conclude with a banquet and keynote lecture by Dr. Jean M. O’Brien, a member of the White Earth Nation, Mississippi Band, Minnesota Chippewa Tribe.  A professor of history at the University of Minnesota, Dr. O’Brien is co-editor of Why You Can’t Teach United States History without American Indians.

Fees for the workshop (which includes lunch and the banquet) have been set at $50 for students, contract instructors, or the unwaged, and $80 for full-time faculty. Please note that registration will be limited to 60 participants, on a first-come, first-served basis. To register, please visit our conference website: https://historiansteachinghistory.wordpress.com/.

Any questions may be directed to Jennifer Pettit at Mount Royal University-- jpettit@mtroyal.ca