Institute For Teachers Focuses On Connecticut Slavery
Institute For Teachers Focuses On Connecticut Slavery
WATERBURY â Connecticut teachers will have an unprecedented opportunity to delve into scholarly research on the topic of slavery in Connecticut, and prepare age-appropriate curriculum materials to use in the next school year. Fortuneâs Story and Slavery in Connecticut, a professional development institute for teachers, will be offered July 16â20 at the Mattatuck Museum Arts and History Center.
Connecticut teachers in grades Kâ12 can study with scholars, engage in seminars with experienced teachers, and further their own study in this important topic, and find ways to bring important information back to the classroom.
Shana L. Redmond is a PhD candidate in the combined degree program of African American Studies and American Studies at Yale University. Her work focuses broadly on the cultural histories of the African Diaspora with a particular focus on the intersection of politics and culture.
Raechel Guest, former associate curator at the Mattatuck Museum Arts and History Center, teaches at UConn, Waterbury, and is a freelance researcher. Ms Guest has researched 18th Century Waterbury with a focus on the slaveholders, and those they enslaved, for the Fortuneâs Story website.
Jerry Sawyer, the Mattatuck Museumâs director of education and programs, is a PhD candidate at the City University of New York, his specialty being the archaeology of enslavement. He will present on his research into enslavement around Connecticut and elsewhere in the North, as well as help facilitate the conference.
The weeklong program features Slavery in Connecticut, New Havenâs role in slavery, field trips to Stratford, an entry port for the illegal importation of slaves, to the Wethersfield and the Webb-Deane-Stevens Museum, and a tour of New Havenâs Freedom Trail.
Programs are held from 8:30 am to 2:30 pm each day, with a call-back session in the fall. Teachers will earn 3.2 CEUs and a stipend for the program.
This institute is supported by the Connecticut Humanities Council. Contact Jerry Sawyer, director of education, at 203-753-0381, extension 11, for more information.
The Mattatuck is at 144 West Main Street, with convenient parking directly behind the museum on Park Place. For more information about collections and programs, visit the website at mattatuckmuseum.org.