Veterans Oral History K-12 Institute

NEH Summer Institute for K-12 Educators:

Oral history can bring your class curriculum to life, and it can inspire students to make connections between the past and present. 

Virginia Tech will host a two-week summer institute to enable K-12 educators to incorporate Veterans Studies into their curricula and train them to do oral history projects as class assignments. Virginia Tech faculty in the Center for Humanities, Department of English, and College of Education will team up to host our first institute on veterans and oral history offered to K-12 educators. The first week of the institute will be in residence at the Athenaeum at Virginia Tech’s University Libraries in Blacksburg, VA, where participants will engage in a series of workshops with oral historians, educators, visiting scholars, and veterans. 

During the second week, we will travel to Washington D.C., where we will tour the Library of Congress and learn how to participate in the Veterans History Project. During our time at the Capitol, we will also explore the Military Women’s Memorial and Arlington National Cemetery, and visit the Vietnam Veterans Memorial and the World War II Memorial. At these historic sites, we will offer walking tours, lessons, and lectures to learn more about the experiences of different groups and generations of veterans who served the United States at war. 

Participants will be eligible for professional development credits through the Virginia Tech's Career and Professional Development Office. We plan to host 25 teachers, ideally educators of grades 9-12, who comprise a range of civilians, veterans, and military family members. Accepted participants will receive a $2,200 stipend to help cover the costs of travel, housing, and food during the institute. We welcome applicants from diverse backgrounds and across regions, career levels, and subject areas. We expect participants to be teachers of History, Social Science, Civics, English Language and Literature, and Communications. As part of the NEH’s initiative, “Standing Together: The Humanities and the Experience of War,” this institute seeks to help bridge the military-civilian divide by teaching educators to engage veterans in their local communities and to inspire dialogue between veterans and students.

Please explore the links on the right to learn about the application details, detailed schedule, institute readings, additional resources, our team and visiting scholars, and more. 

If you have any questions, email the project director at jasonhiggins@vt.edu .