Siena College's McCormick Center for the Study of the American Revolution has been awarded a grant in the amount of $169,426 from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) to underwrite a Landmarks of American History and Culture: Workshops for School Teachers. This is the third NEH grant that Program Director Jennifer Dorsey, Ph.D., has been awarded since 2010.
Themed "Religious Revivals, Utopian Societies and The Shaker Experience in America," the workshop will bring seventy-two K-12 teachers from across the country to Siena in June 2016 to study the history, contributions and legacies of the Shakers. Participating teachers will visit historic sites related to Shaker history including the Watervliet Shaker National Historic District, Shaker Museum Mount Lebanon, and Hancock Shaker Village in Massachusetts. They will also research the collection of Shaker documents housed at the New York State Library and view the comprehensive collection of Shaker artifacts held by the New York State Museum.
History major Elizabeth Marsh '16 will be one of three Siena students assisting with the preparation and execution of the event.
"The NEH Workshop is a great opportunity for students to learn more about career opportunities in museums and education," said Marsh. "The workshop is a special experience for students like me with an interest in history and museum studies because I will have a chance to work with museum educators and teachers from across the country. The NEH Workshop is another example of how McCormick Center students work with history."
The program will provide K-12 educators with an in-depth look into the history of the Shakers and a deeper understanding and appreciation for the interconnectivity of religion, culture, and economics in American history. Dorsey's 2013 NEH workshop titled "Heaven on Earth: Shakers, Religious Revival and Social Reform in America" brought educators and scholars from all across the country to Siena's campus. The 2016 workshop will feature an expanded curriculum, an increased number of visiting scholars and two alumni of the 2013 workshop.
"I had the privilege of directing this workshop in 2013, and it is an awesome opportunity for Siena. Last time, we hosted teachers from as far away as California, Texas, and Hawaii - teachers who had never been to Albany or heard of Siena," said Dorsey. "They loved the campus and were deeply impressed by our undergraduate program assistants. Overall, it was a great opportunity to introduce teachers to the community engaged work that we do."
The grant application was written in the winter of 2015 by Dorsey in collaboration with alumni Francis Butler '15 and Rachel Bournique '15 as well as education professionals from the New York State Museum, New York State Library, Shaker Heritage Society, Hancock Shaker Village, and Shaker Museum Mount Lebanon.
