Choose One: June 22 - 27, 2008, July 13 - 18, 2008, July 27 - August 1, 2008

The Tsongas Industrial History Center invites educators to Lowell National Historical Park, Lowell, Massachusetts, for a six-day summer institute, Inventing America: Lowell and the Industrial Revolution, funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities.

This institute will use the rich resources of Lowell National Historical Park, Old Sturbridge Village, and Concord, MA, museums and historic sites to offer residential learning experiences. Each participant will receive a stipend of $500 to cover housing, meals, books and other expenses. Some additional funds are available on a case-by-case basis for travel.

Content, Scope, and Approach

The Inventing America Workshop combines scholarly presentations with on-site investigations of the canals, mills, worker housing, and exhibits of Lowell National Historical Park and of other sites in Lowell's historic district. Sessions draw on scholarly monographs (discussed below), primary sources, and works of literature and historical fiction.  We intersperse lecture-discussions, hands-on activities, and field investigations. In addition to Lowell’s landmark resources, we take full advantage of Old Sturbridge Village exhibits and scholars to explore pre-industrial rural life and draw on the expertise of scholars and presenters at Walden Pond and the Old Manse in Concord, Massachusetts, to explore how prominent authors addressed the question of industrialization’s effect on American life, values, and the environment.

Hands-on activities throughout the week help participants deepen understanding by engaging in simulations where they weave cloth, build water-powered mill systems, and work on an assembly line.  After cooking a meal over fireplaces at Old Sturbridge Village and sharing a boardinghouse dinner at the Boott Cotton Mills, we will reflect on differences and similarities between farm and factory life. Teachers of history, language arts, science, and math will find Lowell a most engaging classroom. 

Application Procedure and Deadline: Completed application must be postmarked no later than March 15, 2008.

MORE INFORMATION

Questions and comments? contact Ellen Anstey at: Ellen_Anstey@uml.edu or 978-970-5101.

This project is funded as part of the We the People initiative of the
National Endowment for the Humanities.