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Joshua Chamberlain in a heroic pose
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The Maine Humanities Council is well known among the state's teacher population for its innovative and popular programs for educators. This summer, as well as offering some of our usual teacher programs, we presented a new one. This was part of "American Lives: Teaching History Through Biography," a project funded by the U.S Department of Education, taking a slightly unusual approach. It was, for one thing, not actually a program for teachers.
“History Camp 2005: A Seminar for Maine Students on Joshua Chamberlain and the Civil War” was designed for students. From July 11 through 15, 21 high school and middle school students recommended by teachers who had participated in a previous American history program offered by the MHC came to Bowdoin College for a series of in-depth seminars and discussions about Joshua Chamberlain.
"Part of the idea is to take them beyond knowing the history of the battles and names of the generals, and into how history gets written," historian and MHC staff member Charles Calhoun, who handles all teacher programs, told me during this year's history camp. A key idea is understanding how much interpretation can affect what kind of history is passed down.
A main concept of the history camp was the question of heroes. What makes a hero? Was Joshua Chamberlain a hero? Few who examine his activities during the Civil War can deny this of Chamberlain, but the history camp encouraged students to answer the question by seeking evidence themselves. Students learned about research, participated in related exercises, and listened to a strong lineup of historical authorities: Patrick Rael of Bowdoin spoke about the different ways that the battle of Little Round Top had been told-and by whom; Tom Desjardin of the Maine Department of Conservation described from a battle standpoint the strategic forces that brought about the drama of Little Round Top, going into fascinating detail about the people involved and their motivations; and former Pejepscot Historical Society director Deborah Smith described how interest in Chamberlain underwent a major rebirth in the late 20th century.
This was an experiment for the Council, and it seemed a successful one: students participated enthusiastically and applied their newly acquired knowledge as sessions went on. We will be publishing more information about the history camp and its results in the next MHC print newsletter (due out this fall).
Congratulations, Charles, for a wonderful job.
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"Warrior," by Margo Klass, from the Davistown Museum's "What Needs to be Retrieved" exhibit
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The next major grant deadlines are October 10 (draft) and November 10 (final). Regular and discretionary grant deadlines are rolling.
$1,000 to the Saco Museum, Saco, for Simple Gifts: Alfred Shakers 1787-1931
For honorariums and limited travel expenses for scholars in public programs being held this summer and early fall sponsored by the Sabbathday Lake Shaker Museum and the Saco Museum.
$1,000 to the Tate House Museum, Portland, for Inaugural Symposium in Decorative Arts
In honor of the 250th Anniversary, the Tate House Museum along with the National Society of the Colonial Dames of American in the State of Maine will present a symposium to discuss the influences on decorative arts in the northeast American Colonies during the early years of the Tate House", 1755-1776.
$1,000 to the Watershed Center for the Ceramic Arts, Newcastle, for Watershed Critical Dialogue Symposium
The Watershed Critical Dialogue Symposium will bring together critics, curators, arts writers, museum professionals, artists, and the public to explore the impact of ceramics as a craft medium on the field of contemporary visual arts.
$750 to the Bates Dance Festival, Lewiston, for Interpreting Contemporary Dance Aesthetics
Dr. Suzanne Carbonneau will conduct a 3-week Dance Aesthetics Seminar; write program notes and present scholarly "Inside Dance" lectures to accompany public performances; and design and moderate a Global Exchange Panel Discussion with choreographers from the Dominican Republic, Congo, South Africa, Indonesia, Japan, and Mexico.
$750 to the Davistown Museum, Liberty, for What Needs to be Retrieved: The Marriage of Tools, Art, and History
This project will produce a catalog for the Davistown Museum summer 2005 show "What Needs to be Retrieved: The Marriage of Tools, Art, and History." The exhibit for which the catalog is being created will present stories of Maine history via art inspired by and made from tools and will also feature historically significant antique tools from the museum collection.
$750 to Festivo, Belfast, for Belfast Poetry Festival — 2005
For reader stipends and accommodations for the first annual Belfast Poetry Festival, a venue for poets of all ages, backgrounds, and levels of experience.
$750 to the Monhegan Museum, Monhegan Island, for The Hermit of Manana
For a short documentary film about Ray Phillips, the "famous" hermit of Manana Island, Maine.
$750 to the Pejepscot Historical Society, Brunswick, for Sunday in the Park with Nellie
The object of this project is to produce and sell a 30-minute DVD tour of Merrymeeting Park, a trolley amusement park that operated from 1898 to1908 in Brunswick.
$500 to the Pemaquid Watershed Association, Damariscotta, for Second Annual Native American Recognition Ceremony
A cultural event and public seminar honoring the local Warenoc tribe and others of the region who traditionally gathered along the mid-coast for feasting and information exchange.
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Notes from an Open Book
