Africans, African-Americans and American
Frontier Culture

July 17 - July 20, 2008

Africans, African-Americans and American Frontier Culture will engage teachers in an exploration of the contributions made by Africans and their American descendents to the creation of American frontier culture. The program lectures and workshops will provide participants with information, resources, and strategies they can use to introduce their students to the African origins of African-Americans, to the transatlantic slave trade, to the nature and operation of the slave system in Virginia, to how enslaved Virginians were able to create their own distinctive culture in America, and to how they carried that culture into the backcountry and beyond.

Institute Goals

• Make connections to early African-American culture and its influences on American Culture.
• Understand key aspects of the culture of enslaved Americans.
• Engage students in exploration of enslaved peoples' backgrounds and homeland.
• Teach students using methods that require higher-level critical thinking using primary sources and artifacts.
• Become part of a network of teachers and scholars to gain and share new knowledge about West African origins of early African-Americans.
• Incorporate and expand upon the Virginia Standards of Learning for West Africa and Slavery into classroom lessons.
• Design teaching materials for a new FCMV depository of African-American educational resources.

Institute Workshops

African/ African-American Foodways
Mr. Michael W. Twitty will be conducting a hands-on workshop and discussion in the kitchen of one of the Museum's early American farmhouses. There you will discover the types of food culture brought to America from western Africa as well as how they have become assimilated into modern foodways.

African/ African-American Storytelling
Mr. Dylan Pritchett from the Board of National Association of Black Storytellers, Inc. will be conducting a workshop on how to use storytelling in the classroom, as well as presenting stories of historical significance.

African/ African-American Arts
Mr. Jason Gordon from the Duke Homestead will lead an interactive discussion and workshop centered on African wood carvings. In this session you will learn the significance of this art form and how it translated in the New World.

African/ African-American Music
Mr. David Landes from the Frontier Culture Museum of Virginia will perform and give in depth history of the banjo and traditional music.

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Setting

Sessions and workshops will be held at the Frontier Culture Museum of Virginia. Workshops will take place at the 1820s American Farm (newest American exhibit), and the 1850s American Farm.

The Frontier Culture Museum of Virginia features three European exhibits from Ireland, England and Germany, as well as three American exhibits from Rockingham County, Botetourt County and a recreation of a 1700s settlers homestead. The Museum's West African Exhibit is underway with a tentative completion date in early Fall 2008.

Academic Credit

Graduate credits are available through the Mary Baldwin College MAT program. For more information, contact Dr. Carole C. Grove, MAT Director, (866) 849-0676 (toll free) or by email at cgrove@mbc.edu.

Continuing Education Credits are available through James Madison University. For more information call the Frontier Culture Museum at (540) 332-7850 or email larry.sabourin@fcmv.virginia.gov.

Accommodations

Housing for the participants will be at the Guest House Inn, Staunton VA. When registering for the Institute, please inform the Museum if you will need housing, and provide the name of the person rooming with you. Rooms are free for those participants sharing rooms. Single rooms are available for $150.00 for three nights.

The Guest House Inn has many amenities which include a fitness center, indoor hot tub, indoor heated swimming pool, sauna, and wireless internet.

Selection

The selection of participants is on a first come-first-serve basis. Reservations must be made by June 1, 2008.

Expenses

Payment of a $75.00 non-refundable deposit insures your reservation in the Institute.

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Institute Virginia Standards of Learning (SOL)

Colonization and Conflict: 1607 through the American Revolution

VS.3		The student will demonstrate knowledge of the first permanent English settlement in America by a) explaining the reasons for English colonization; e) identifying the importance of the arrival of Africans and women to the Jamestown settlement;
VS.4		The student will demonstrate knowledge of life in the Virginia colony by a) explaining the importance of agriculture and its influence on the institution of slavery; b) describing how European (English, Scotch-Irish, German) immigrants, Africans, and American Indians (First Americans) influenced the cultural landscape and changed the relationship between the Virginia colony and England;

Exploration to Revolution: Pre-Columbian Times to the 1770s

USI.4

The student will demonstrate knowledge of European exploration in North America and West Africa by c) identifying the location and describing the characteristics of West African societies (Ghana, Mali, and Songhai) and their interactions with traders.

Era IV: Regional Interactions, 1000 to 1500 A.D.

WHI.10

The student will demonstrate knowledge of civilizations and empires of the Eastern Hemisphere and their interactions through regional trade patterns by d) describing east African kingdoms of Axum and Zimbabwe and west African civilizations of Ghana, Mali, and Songhai in terms of geography, society, economy, and religion.

Era V: Emergence of a Global Age, 1500 to 1650 A.D.

WHII.4		The student will demonstrate knowledge of the impact of the European Age of Discovery and expansion into the Americas, Africa, and Asia by a) explaining the roles of explorers and conquistadors; b) describing the influence of religion; c) explaining migration, settlement patterns, cultural diffusion, and social classes in the colonized areas; e) explaining the triangular trade;
WHII.5		The student will demonstrate knowledge of the status and impact of global trade on regional civilizations of the world after 1500 A.D. by d) describing Africa and its increasing involvement in global trade;

Skills

VUS.1

The student will demonstrate skills for historical and geographical analysis, including the ability to a) identify, analyze, and interpret primary and secondary source documents, records, and data, including artifacts, diaries, letters, photographs, journals, newspapers, historical accounts, and art to increase understanding of events and life in the United States; b) evaluate the authenticity, authority, and credibility of sources; c) formulate historical questions and defend findings based on inquiry and interpretation; d) develop perspectives of time and place, including the construction of maps and various time lines of events, periods, and personalities in American history; e) communicate findings orally and in analytical essays and/or comprehensive papers; f) develop skills in discussion, debate, and persuasive writing with respect to enduring issues and determine how divergent viewpoints have been addressed and reconciled; g) apply geographic skills and reference sources to understand how relationships between humans and their environment have changed over time; h) interpret the significance of excerpts from famous speeches and other documents.

Early America: Early Claims, Early Conflicts

VUS.2		The student will describe how early European exploration and colonization resulted in cultural interactions among Europeans, Africans, and American Indians (First Americans).
VUS.3		The student will describe how the values and institutions of European economic life took root in the colonies and how slavery reshaped European and African life in the Americas.

The Teacher Institute is sponsored by:

		National Endowment for the Humanities
		Virginia Foundation for the Humanities