Historic Southern Indiana

The 5th annual Lincoln Institute for Teachers
“A House Dividing: Lincoln and the Emergence of Modern Politics”
June 19 – 20, 2008
University of Southern Indiana, Evansville, Indiana

Join Historic Southern Indiana as we conduct our 5th annual Lincoln Institute for Teachers. The focus will be on the year 1858 as a turning point in American politics and we will explore such events as Kansas-Nebraska Act, the birth of the Republican Party in Illinois, and the Lincoln-Douglas debates. Since 2008 is a Presidential election year, we will also focus on the nature of political discourse in our current political process and compare and contrast that with the early days of the modern two-party system in the Civil War era.

Speakers
Nicole Etcheson spoke at our 3rd annual Lincoln Institute for Teachers. She is Alexander M. Bracken Professor of History at Ball State University. Etcheson's most recent book on pre-Civil War history entitled, Bleeding Kansas: Contested Liberty in the Civil War Era (University Press of Kansas, 2004), was a History Book Club selection. She is also the author of The Emerging Midwest: Upland Southerners and the Political Culture of the Old Northwest, 1787-1861 (Indiana University Press, 1996). Etcheson received a National Endowment for the Humanities summer stipend in 2004 to begin research on her new book project, The Union Home Front: Putnam County Indiana, in the Civil War Era. In addition to her books, Etcheson is also the author of numerous articles in professional journals as well as a frequent presenter at historical conferences. Etcheson comes to Ball State University with twelve years organizing for National History Day at the local and state level, as well as fourteen years of experience in teaching.

David Zarefsky is Owen L. Coon Professor of Argumentation and Debate, and Professor of Communication Studies, at Northwestern University, where he served as Dean of the School of Speech from 1988 through June 2000. Zarefsky’s research and teaching are in the areas of rhetorical history and criticism, argumentation and debate, and forensics. He is the author, co-author, or editor of eight books and the author of over 70 articles in professional journals. Two of his books have won the Winans-Wichelns Award for Distinguished Scholarship in Rhetoric and Public Address, an award of the National Communication Association: President Johnson’s War on Poverty: Rhetoric and History (University of Alabama Press, 1986) and Lincoln, Douglas, and Slavery: In the Crucible of Public Debate (University of Chicago Press, 1990). He is one of only three individuals to have won this award twice. At Northwestern, Zarefsky has taught courses in the study of American public discourse, with a special focus on the pre-Civil War years and on the 1960’s.

Linda Bennett is the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs at the University of Southern Indiana where she oversees five colleges, the Rice Library, Graduate Studies and Sponsored Research, University Division, Extended Services, Center for Teaching and Learning excellence, and Institutional Research and Assessment. In addition to her administrative duties Bennett is a tenured professor of political science at USI and previously taught at Appalachian State University, Northern Kentucky University, and Wittenberg University. She has written for several major scholarly publications and serves as a consultant evaluator for the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association. Bennett is active in the community and serves on the Evansville Mayor’s Education Roundtable, the Southwest Indiana Network for Education, and the City of Evansville Diversity Lecture Series Board of Directors.

Stephen Bennett is a professor of political science at the University of Southern Indiana. Bennett is also professor emeritus of political science at the University of Cincinnati, where he was on the faculty from 1969 to 2001. He is the associate editor of Critical Review, a journal that deals with economic, social, and political issues, and he writes a column, “From the Heartland,” for the online magazine, PublicOpinionPros.com. His fields of concentration are American public opinion, electoral behavior, and political communication. Bennett has authored, co-authored, or co-edited half-a-dozen books, and roughly 100 articles, book chapters, and essays. He has presented papers at over 100 international, national, and regional conferences. Several of his publications focus on young people and politics.

Timothy Connors and George Buss are life long residents of Freeport, Illinois, and serve the students of Freeport High School. Tim is the Director of Speech and Theatre and George is the District Director of AVID. They will bring to life the program “A Discussion with President Lincoln and Judge Douglas” written by Freeport native and 45 year veteran Stephen Douglas interpreter, the late Richard F. Sokup. Both men will participate in the Debate Reunion Tour ’08 when Illinois and the nation celebrate the Lincoln Douglas Debates Sesquicentennial statewide in Springfield, Chicago, and Bement and all 7 original debate communities.

Brian Posler currently serves as the Assistant Vice President for Academic Affairs at the University of Southern Indiana. As AVPAA, he works with undergraduate education and general administration, where he oversees the University Core Curriculum; the Honors Program; University Division and Academic Skills. Posler also works with Student Affairs on issues related to student academic concerns, programming, advising, recruitment, and assessment. Prior to coming to USI, he served as Chair of the Political Science Department at Millikin University, in Decatur, Illinois. Posler writes in the areas of Congressional Parties, Progressive Ambition, and veto politics, and his works have appeared in Legislative Studies Quarterly, PS, and the Illinois Political Science Review. He has also developed two editions of teaching simulations for W.W. Norton and Co. entitled American Government: Simulations.

Agenda
Thursday, June 19, 2008
Day 1 will focus on scholarly lectures by our presenters on such topics as events in 1858, the Lincoln-Douglas Debates and their place in the history of public discourse, teaching about the Lincoln-Douglas Debates and elections, doing history at the local level. Timothy Connors and George Buss will present their program, “A Discussion with President Lincoln and Judge Douglas,” in a free public event on the evening of June 19.

Friday, June 20, 2008
Day 2 will begin with a panel discussion on how the events of the late 1850s shape us and will include reflections on modern American politics. The rest of the morning will be spent in break-out sessions according to grade level. We are happy to once again have Bill Bartelt and Jon Carl conducting the Secondary Teachers breakout session and Bob Boostrom and Lee Bilderback conducting the elementary breakout session. Middle school teachers can select from either session. Martha Beckort, Media Specialist with Lanesville Community School Corporation will bring her bookstore and provide useful information on sources.

Registration Information
A variety of registration packages starting at $85 are available and overnight accommodation in USI Student Housing for those needing lodging. Two hotels are also located just a few miles from campus.

More detailed information and registration will be available in the spring. If you would like to be added to the mailing list, please contact Jane Reynolds, HSI administrative assistant, at areynold@usi.edu or by phone at 1/800/489-4474 or 812/465-7014.

8600 University Boulevard - Evansville, IN 47712-3596 - 812/464-8600