Wash U's Center for Humanities presenting summer jazz institute for classroom teachers

The Center for the Humanities at Washington University is presenting a workshop this summer that will show classroom teachers how to use jazz music as a way to better understand and teach American culture and history. "The Impact of Jazz on American Life" is described as "a fresh reconfiguration" of the successful National Endowment for the Humanities institutes that the Center administered on the same subject in the summers of 2005 and 2007.

Intended for elementary, middle school and high school teachers, the program aims to show them how "through the study of the social, cultural, technical, and aesthetic history of a major American musical genre, jazz, they can reconfigure aspects of teaching American history, literature, art, and music while broadening students' understanding of the political, social, and commercial impact that an artistic movement can have."

The lead instructor will be Gerald Early, professor of English and African American Studies at Washington University. He will be joined by Patrick Burke, assistant professor of Music at Washington University and Steve Missey, English teacher at St. Louis University High School as well as several guest lecturers.

The institute includes one week-long summer session, to be held July 7-11, 2008, and eight Saturday sessions throughout the academic year 2008-2009, from September until May. As part of their coursework, participants will attend performances at Jazz at the Bistro. You can learn more about the curriculum, requirements and reading list here.

The institute is especially interested in teachers of English, history, social studies, art, film studies, philosophy and music, but will consider applications from any school teacher regardless of discipline and from qualified non-teachers such as school librarians, media specialists, and museum staff.

The application form is available online at the Center for the Humanities Web site, or you can request an application by calling Barbara Liebmann or Jian Leng at 314-935-5576 between 8:30 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday. The deadline for completed applications is May 23, 2008, and successful applicants will be notified no later than June 2, 2008. Participants will receive a stipend of $100 per full day.