Letter of Invitation
September 12, 2007
Dear Maine Teacher:
Since 1995, the University of Maine History Department has hosted a
one-day conference for middle and high school teachers featuring
presentations on a wide variety of topics related to how history can be
presented in the classroom. This event, which attracts up to 100
teachers to the Orono campus each fall, serves as a forum for discussing
and disseminating recent scholarship and for strengthening ties between
secondary school educators and University teachers.
On Friday, October 26, we will meet again in the fine and easily
accessible Buchanan Alumni Center. The registration fee of $30
will include a buffet lunch as well as coffee/tea and snacks throughout
the day. Teachers are eligible for 0.6 CEU credits for attending,
which they can claim by paying a $5 fee and either filling out the form
on our website
http://www.umaine.edu/history/teachinghistory.htm or completing a
form on the day of the conference. The conference will begin at
8:30 with coffee and registration and conclude by 3:00 p.m.
This year's theme will be "Maine and New England: Public
Images/Invented Traditions." We would like the conference to go
beyond the usual boundaries and, toward that end, have invited
participation from the Margaret Chase Smith Center, the Margaret Chase
Smith Library, the Maine State Museum, and the William S. Cohen Papers.
We would welcome suggestions for other Maine and/or New England
institutions that might wish to participate. Our luncheon/keynote
speaker will be Professor Kent Ryden, Director of the American and New
England Studies Program at the University of Southern Maine. He is
a prominent scholar and excellent speaker. After considerable
thought, we are dropping, at least for this year, the afternoon poster
sessions that were included the past two years. But we do intend
to continue exhibits on a wide variety of subjects.
We want to include one or more "works in progress" sessions for
teachers, graduate students, faculty, and others who are not yet ready
to offer completed papers but whose ongoing research and teaching
projects could possible benefit from exposure at the conference.
So please feel encouraged if you would like to present or discuss
something that is literally "in progress."
Please join us on Friday, October 26. Kindly share this
announcement with other interested parties -- the conference is open to
the public. We invite you to register in advance on-line at
http://www.umaine.edu/history/teachinghistory.htm. As
organizer of this year's conference, I invite you to contact me or the
History department with any questions or requests you might have,
especially as they pertain to equipment needs or to a disability that
may require accommodation. We look forward to your presence and
participation on October 26.
For the Teaching History in Maine Committee,
Howard Segal
Professor of History
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