Michigan Conference on Introductory History Courses

 

The AHA will hold the inaugural Michigan Conference on Introductory History Courses on Friday, September 20 and Saturday, September 21, 2024, at the Oakland Univ. in Rochester, Michigan. This two-day, statewide conference will facilitate conversations among people who teach introductory history courses, whether in high schools, community colleges, or four-year universities. The conference is free to attend, and all history and social studies educators are invited, particularly those with a focus on preparing students for success in secondary and college-level introductory courses in US and world history.

Some highlights from the program include the keynote from Anne Hyde (Univ. of Oklahoma) on “Highlighting (and Teaching) Historical Skills in Introductory Classrooms,” a plenary with Bob Bain on “Informal Writing and Historical Thinking in the Age of Artificial Intelligence,” another with but also a plenary and breakout discussion on teaching Michigan indigenous history, as well as facilitated, small-group discussions about identifying course goals and designing a course to achieve them, an opportunity to show-and-tell a course assignment for feedback from peers, a roundtable on teaching intro courses in different types of institutions in the state, and a roundtable of state lawmakers discussing an planned ethnic-studies requirement.

Register here

Featured Speakers

Bob Bain is associate professor of Educational Studies and associate professor in the Department of History at the University of Michigan. He also serves as a faculty associate in the university’s Museum Studies Program, the founding director of the International Institutes and School of Education’s World History and Literature Initiative, and was the lead designer and researcher on the Big History Project and World History Projects. He earned his PhD in history with a special concentration in the history of policy toward youth. Before coming to the University of Michigan in 1998, he taught high school history and social studies for 26 years in the Cleveland, Ohio area, where he was a seven-time award winner for excellence in teaching. Bain has received awards for teaching at both the high school and university levels, including the College Educator of the Year Award from the Michigan Council of Social Studies in 2008 and 2011. In 2000, the Carnegie Foundation selected him as a Carnegie Scholar in the Carnegie Academy of Teaching and Learning and he continues as one of the Organization of American Historians’ Distinguished Lecturers. In 2022, The World History Association honored Bob with its Pioneer in World History award for his extraordinary contributions to world history studies having advanced the field in a significant way.

Anne Hyde is Professor of History and Editor-in-Chief of the Western Historical Quarterly. Her most recent book, Born of Lakes and Plains: Mixed-Descent Peoples and the Making of the American West, was published by W. W. Norton in 2022. She has served as President of the Pacific Coast Branch of the AHA and on the elected councils of the AHA and the Western History Association. She served as Faculty Director of the AHA‘s “Tuning the History Discipline” project to help history departments assess and reform courses and curricula. Her earlier work includes Empires, Nations, and Families: A New History of the North American West, 1800-1860 (Ecco 2012) that won Columbia University’s Bancroft Prize and was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. At OU she serves on the Editorial Board of the University of Oklahoma Press, the Faculty Board of the Fred Jones Art Museum, and on the most recent search for a new VP and Provost.  She is also currently serving as the VP of the AHA’s Professional Division.

• Featured presentations from Bob Bain (Univ. of Michigan), Anne Hyde (Univ. of Oklahoma), and other leading history educators.
• Professional development around key issues, including AI, as well as course structure, historical content, primary sources, and new instructional resources for the classroom.
• Community building with opportunities to network, learn, and share insights with colleagues from diverse institutions.
• State policy implementation. Hear from policymakers and peers about state standards, higher education policies, and the landscape of history education in Michigan.
• Hands-on workshops focused on improving student success in introductory courses.
• Education initiatives and research from the AHA.

Travel and Accommodations

Parking is widely available on campus. The address for the conference is Oakland Center, Oakland University; 312 Meadow Brook Rd, Rochester, MI 48309. Parking is ample and there is no cost or need to register in advance. 

There is no official conference hotel. There is a small block of rooms available at the local Crowne Plaza (1500 Opdyke Rd, Auburn Hills, MI) for $129 per night on Thursday and Friday night. To book in the block, please click here or call the hotel with the code HOU. Once the block is filled, the rate may not be extended to other attendees. Please book early to secure a spot. The hotel will allow you to store your baggage after checkout if necessary.

Sponsors

We are grateful for our sponsors, whose generous support make this conference possible.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Knudsen Family Fund

OER Project

Rising Voices

Questions?

Email Rachel Wheatley at rwheatley@historians.org.