About the Project
U.S. History Themes—by project year
Year Three
- World War II: Content will focus on economic and social change brought by the war, with particular attention to selected primary sources showing women’s roles in war industries, rationing, and family life. Because of the abundance of oral history sources, teachers will learn how to use these primary sources and help their student do oral history interviews.
- The 1950s and 1960s: Recent scholarship allows more thoughtful means of understanding these two key decades, which are becoming increasingly important in classroom teaching. Including analysis of music and film, this workshop not only will help teachers understand Indiana notables, such as Hoagie Carmichael and James Dean, but also will enhance teachers’ ability to use such sources. In addition, teachers will examine ethnic diversity.
- Global America: Hoosiers have long prided themselves on their independence, but like other Americans they recognize connections between local and global. Indiana cases will include analysis of the significance of three Japanese auto manufacturing plants in the state. Teachers will examine how over the last three decades global and local have integrated (or not) and how change has allowed and challenged adherence to the nation’s founding principles.
- Book Discussion: A Lynching in the Heartland: Race and Memory in America, an Indiana case study, will be used as a window into issues of race in America. The book’s author, James Madison, will guide discussion. We will also read Our Towns, which uses Indiana sources to understand the value of oral history and links between local and national trends.
- Field Trips: The Indiana State Museum’s field trip, led by the senior curator, will focus on twentieth-century artifacts and exhibits. The Indiana Historical Society’s library will offer hands-on experience with examples of our most precious documents and also participation in the new “Indiana Experience,” which includes “The History Lab” and “Destination Indiana.”