Teacher Workshops at the Cullman Center Institute for Teachers in The New York Public Library Spring 2010

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1 Teacher Workshops at the Cullman Center Institute for Teachers in The New York Public Library Spring 2010 The Cullman Center Institute for Teachers announces a series of Teacher Workshops to be held in the spring of These Workshops are modeled on the Center s popular Summer Seminars, which many teachers have called the best professional development experience they have ever had. The Cullman Center is located in The New York Public Library s landmark building at Fifth Avenue and 42nd Street. The Teacher Workshops will each last a full day and provide the following opportunities to successful applicants: A graduate-level seminar led by an outstanding scholar or creative writer Time to explore the electronic databases of one of the world s great libraries Special access to rare books, manuscripts, historic maps, and other primary documents in The New York Public Library The chance to engage with other educators and share strategies for teaching challenging material to New York s diverse student population Resources and research to take back to colleagues Lunch Professional Development Hours (at the discretion of principals) All educators are welcome to apply. Priority will be given to English and history teachers, librarians, and administrators working in New York City s public secondary schools. Each workshop can accommodate fifteen participants. Although each workshop is free, participants are responsible for acquiring the assigned text (generally a paperback book). Applications and more information are available at: Send completed applications by mail or fax to this address by Monday, January 18, 2010: The Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center for Scholars and Writers The New York Public Library Fifth Avenue and 42nd Street, Room 225 New York, New York Fax: The application deadline is January 18, Applicants will be notified by February 19, For further information contact csw@nypl.org.

2 The Spring 2010 Teacher Workshops Teaching Shakespeare s Macbeth James Shapiro, Columbia University Thursday, March 4th Writing New York: Research Strategies for the Non-fiction Writer Ian Frazier, writer for The New Yorker Tuesday, March 16th Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave David Blight, Yale University Monday, March 29th The Harlem Renaissance as Seen in Art, Jazz, and the novel Their Eyes Were Watching God Robert O Meally, Columbia University Monday, April 5th Reaching into the Past: Historical Research and Creative Writing Julie Orringer, novelist Tuesday, April 13th Creating Imaginary Worlds with Primary Documents Karen Russell, novelist Tuesday, April 20th Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Ezra Tawil, Columbia University Thursday, May 6th The Haitian and American Revolutions François Furstenberg, Université de Montréal Thursday, May 13th The View from the Kitchen: A History of American Women through Food Laura Shapiro, culinary historian and biographer Thursday, June 10th

3 Teacher Workshops, Spring 2010 The Cullman Center Institute for Teachers Teaching Shakespeare s Macbeth Thursday, March 4th This seminar will look at various approaches to the teaching of Macbeth, with special attention to the play s rich text as well as its literary and historical contexts. In addition, all participants will help act out a scene as a model for inspiring students to experience how Shakespeare s language was meant to be performed, not just read. James Shapiro, a former Cullman Center Fellow and a Professor of English at Columbia University, writes reviews, articles, and books, including the biography 1599: A Year in the Life of William Shakespeare. Writing New York: Research Strategies for the Non-fiction Writer Tuesday, March 16th Writer Ian Frazier will discuss his research process for a 2006 New Yorker article on Co-op City in the Bronx. Participants will then write on the spot, and share, a first draft of a non-fiction essay about a New York City locale. After Frazier makes suggestions for research to augment the draft, participants will begin that research, using the Library s resources. Ian Frazier, a current Cullman Center Fellow, is a writer and humorist for The New Yorker and the author of many books, including Great Plains and On the Rez. Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave Monday, March 29th This seminar will examine Douglass s Narrative as both a literary text and a historical document. Participants will assess various ways of reading this classic slave narrative, discuss what it reveals or hides about Douglass s early life, and analyze how the book can be used as a window into the experience of slavery from both the slave s and the slave owner s perspective. David Blight is a former Cullman Center Fellow and a Professor of American History at Yale University. His books include Race and Reunion: The Civil War in American Memory, and A Slave No More: Two Men Who Escaped to Freedom. The Harlem Renaissance: A Look at its Art, Jazz, and the novel Their Eyes Were Watching God Monday, April 5th Zora Neale Hurston s Their Eyes Were Watching God will be the prism through which this seminar studies the Harlem Renaissance. Participants will look closely at the structure and development of Hurston s novel, and will also examine the music and art of the period, with particular attention paid to Duke Ellington and Aaron Douglas. Robert G. O Meally is a former Cullman Center Fellow and the Zora Neale Hurston Professor of English and Comparative Literature at Columbia University, where he founded The Center for Jazz Studies. His books include The Craft of Ralph Ellison, Lady Day: The Many Faces of Billie Holiday, and The Jazz Singers. Reaching into the Past: Historical Research and Creative Writing Tuesday, April 13th How do writers sift through vast resources to find the books, newspapers, photographs, and maps that provide inspiration and lend accuracy and depth to historical fiction? This creative writing workshop will examine short fiction by Andrea Barrett and Chris Adrian, and will explore research techniques as

4 workshop participants try their hands at writing fiction that draws on primary-source documents. Julie Orringer, a former Cullman Center Fellow, is the author of the short story collection How to Breathe Underwater, and of The Invisible Bridge, a novel to be published by Knopf in May. Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Thursday, May 6th This seminar will look at Twain s novel from three perspectives: its literary characteristics; its plot and characters in relation to its historical contexts; and critical debates over the work particularly its racial politics from the time of its publication to the present day. Ezra Tawil is a former Cullman Center Fellow and a professor of American literature at Columbia University. He is the author of The Making of Racial Sentiment: Slavery and the Birth of the Frontier Romance. Creating Imaginary Worlds Using Primary-Source Documents Tuesday, April 20th Fiction writers transport readers to wonderlands and alien planets, as well as to the darkest labyrinths of their characters interiors. Participants in this writing workshop will examine how authors transform an invented landscape into a vibrant, real place on the page. They will compose imaginary worlds of their own by responding to writing prompts based on materials such as maps, photographs, postcards, and diary entries. Karen Russell s stories have appeared in The New Yorker and Granta. A current Cullman Center Fellow, Russell is the author of the short-story collection St. Lucy s Home for Girls Raised by Wolves. Her novel, Swamplandia!, will be published by Knopf. The Haitian and American Revolutions Thursday, May 12th This seminar will begin with a talk on the Haitian Revolution ( ) that examines its impact on the U.S. and relates it to the questions of race, citizenship, and colonialism that bedeviled the eighteenthand nineteenth-century Atlantic world. Readings in primary-sources will provide the background for the discussion to follow. François Furstenberg, a current Cullman Center Fellow, is an Assistant Professor of History at the Université de Montréal and the author of In the Name of the Father: Washington s Legacy, Slavery, and the Making of a Nation. The View from the Kitchen: A History of American Women through Food Thursday, June 10th The study of food opens up an extraordinary range of issues, including economics, psychology, domestic tradition, gender relations, education, and social class. This seminar will examine the history of American women in the 20th century by examining three immensely influential cooks Fannie Farmer, Betty Crocker and Julia Child. Participants will study these women s careers and the effects they had on American culture through cookbooks, magazines, ads, TV programs, and other primary source materials. Laura Shapiro, a current Cullman Center Fellow, is the author of Perfection Salad: Women and Cooking at the Turn of the Century; Something from the Oven: Reinventing Dinner in 1950s America; and a biography, Julia Child.

5 APPLICATION Teacher Workshops The Cullman Center Institute for Teachers Spring 2010 Please rank your choices in order of preference (1, 2, 3, etc.). Shakespeare s Macbeth Thursday, March 4th Do you teach Shakespeare? Research Strategies for Non-fiction Writing Tuesday, March 16th Do you teach non-fiction writing? Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave Monday, March 29th Do you teach Frederick Douglass? The Harlem Renaissance: A Look at its Art, Jazz, and the Novel Their Eyes Were Watching God Monday, April 5th Do you teach Their Eyes Were Watching God? The Harlem Renaissance? Reaching into the Past: Historical Research and Creative Writing Tuesday, April 13th Do you teach creative writing? Creating Imaginary Worlds with Primary Documents Tuesday, April 20th Do you teach creative writing? Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Thursday, May 6th Do you teach Huckleberry Finn? The Haitian and American Revolutions Thursday, May 13th Do you teach the Haitian or American Revolutions? The View from the Kitchen: The History of American Women through Food Thursday, June 10th Do you teach women s history? Do you teach a unit on food?

6 PAGE 2 OF APPLICATION Name: Home address: City: State: Zip: Work phone: Home phone: My school is public private religiously affiliated School Name: Address: City: State: Zip: Phone: Preferred mailing address: home school Your supervisor s name: Phone: College Attended Degree Date University Attended Degree Date Are you currently a full-time teacher? Total number of years you have taught: Current grades and courses taught or administrative position held: Please list any Cullman Center Summer Seminars or Teacher Workshops you have attended: If space is available, could you attend more than one seminar?

7 PAGE 3 OF APPLICATION Are you very familiar somewhat familiar or unfamiliar with electronic databases? Are you very familiar somewhat familiar or unfamiliar with doing research in The New York Public Library s landmark building on Fifth Avenue and 42nd Street? Why do you want to attend your first choice of Workshop? Please include a 150-word description of your school and of yourself as a teacher. Longer essays will not be considered. (If you are selected, your essay will be sent to your workshop colleagues in advance of the workshop.) All educators are welcome to apply. Priority will be given to English and history teachers, librarians, and administrators working in New York City s public secondary schools. Each workshop can accommodate fifteen participants. Send completed applications by mail or fax to this address by Monday, January 18, 2010: The Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center for Scholars and Writers The New York Public Library Fifth Avenue and 42nd Street, Room 225 New York, New York Fax: The application deadline is January 18, Applicants will be notified by February 19, Although each workshop is free, participants are responsible for acquiring the assigned text (generally a paperback book). For further information contact csw@nypl.org