The Warren A. Nord Teachers’ Seminar

“The mixture of scholarly lectures with interactive lesson plan exploration was helpful because it allowed us to immediately apply the content to our classroom.  Most conferences, it is ‘either/or’ – this conference has been unique and wonderful.” ~2012 teacher participant

The Warren A. Nord Teachers seminar, named for the long-time director of the Program in the Humanities, is a special  professional development event for teachers that is held each summer. The agenda includes lectures on a variety of relevant topics from distinguished collegiate faculty, active exploration of classroom-ready lessons plans on related topics, as well as time to learn from and network with teachers from across the state.

The 2013 Nord seminar, The Fight for Freedom: From Slavery to Civil Rights, will be held June 19-20 at UNC-Greensboro’s Alumni House. For details and registration information, visit the Consortium’s Upcoming Training’s page.

Check out some of the session topics from last year’s seminar, “Challenges to Democracy,” held July 16-18, 2012 at the UNC-Chapel Hill School of Government, and browse some of the samples of the accompanying curriculum provided to teachers below. For more information about the Warren A. Nord Teachers seminar, the Consortium’s curriculum offerings, or professional development, contact Christie Norris.

The 2012 Warren A. Nord Seminar: Challenges to Democracy

Corresponding lesson plans are listed under each presentation title:

• Hypocrisy in Democracy: Slavery and Runaways – Dr. Freddie Parker, History, North Carolina Central University  & author of  “Running for Freedom: Slave Runaways in NC, 1775-1840” & “Stealing a Little Freedom”
• Slave Resistance
• Stealing a Little Freedom: Slave Runaways and accompanying Power Point
• Exploring the Hypocrisy of American Slavery with Frederick Douglass’ “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?” and accompanying Power Point

•  Strength through Struggle: The 1898 Wilmington Race Riot – Lerae Umfleet, NC Department of Cultural Resources & author of “Day of Blood: The 1898 Wilmington Race Riot
• The Wilmington Race Riot of 1898 and accompanying Power Point                  

•  Who Can Dream the American Dream: A Discussion with the Author of A Home on the Field – Paul Cuadros, Associate Professor of Journalism & Mass Communication, UNC, and author of A Home on the Field
• Learning About Immigration in NC with A Home on the Field and accompanying Power Point

•  Exploring Perceptions of American Muslims and Islam in the United States - Dr. Tim Marr , Associate Professor of American Studies, UNC-Chapel Hill
• Breaking the Muslim Monolith: Exploring Stereotypes and accompanying Power Point
• Women’s Rights in Iraq and accompanying Power Point
• Iran’s 2009 Voter Uprising and accompanying Power Point
• Forbidden Faces: Effects of Taliban Rule on Women in Afghanistan and accompanying Power Point

• What Freedom Might Be: Democracy & Nation Building in Native America – Dr. Daniel Cobb, Department of American Studies, UNC-Chapel Hill & author of Native Activism in Cold War America:  The Struggle for Sovereignty
• North Carolina’s Tuscarora War
• Tales and Trails of Betrayal: America’s Native American Policies and accompanying Power Point
• North Carolina’s Lumbee Fight for Justice: The Battle of Hayes Pond in Maxton, NC

• Equal Protection in a Constitutional Democracy:  Exploring Equality & Women’s Rights with United States v. Virginia - Tom Metzloff, Professor of Law, Duke University & Creator of the Voices of American Law Project
• United States v. Virginia

• Whose “Right to Life?” Exploring Ethics, Race, and Medicine with the Story of Henrietta Lacks – Dr. Jane Thrailkill, Associate Professor and Director of Graduate Admissions, English and Comparative Law
• Who Owns Your Body? A Look at Property Rights & the Human Body with the Cases of Henrietta Lacks & John Moore and accompanying Power Point
• The Tuskegee Syphilis Study and accompanying Power Point
• Against their Will: North Carolina’s Eugenics Program & In re Moore

*Additional lesson plans on these topics and hundreds more can be found in the Consortium’s Database of K-12 Resources.

“I have always wanted to teach controversial topics in my classroom, but I did not know how to approach these sensitive issues.  Thank you for giving me the tools to be successful in the classroom.” ~2012 teacher participant

About Warren Nord

Dr. Nord was the founding director of the Program in the Humanities and Human Values, a position he held from 1979-2004. While he was director of the Program, it sponsored over 700 seminars, workshops, and conferences, attended by more than 40,000 participants. His seminars “Good and Evil” and “God and Suffering” were so popular that they sold out several years in a row. Dr. Nord taught the philosophy of religion and the philosophy of education in at UNC from 1981 until his retirement from the University in 2009, and his research and writing focused on the place of religion in American education.

Upon his retirement, supporters established the Warren A. Nord fund that enables the Program to offer summer training opportunities for teachers. The popularity of and positive response to each summer’s Warren A. Nord Seminar is a testament to Dr. Nord’s legacy.