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Funding Acknowledgement: A Sense of Place: Architecture, Culture, and History in the Arkansas Delta Workshop has been made possible in part by a major grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities: Democracy demands wisdom.

Policy Statement: Any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this Web resource do not necessarily represent those of the National Endowment for the Humanities.

A Sense of Place Welcomes You

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Tushek Building, Lake Village.png
Japanese American Internment Museum, McGehee.png

John H. Johnson Museum

Arkansas City, Arkansas

www.johnhjohnsonmuseum.org

Allen House

Monticello, Arkansas

Tushek Building

Lake Village, Arkansas

https://www.revivalarch.com/tushek

Selma Community Center

A Rosenwald School

Selma, Arkansas

Japanese American Internment Museum

McGehee, Arkansas

Plan Your Visit | Rohwer Heritage Site (astate.edu)

A Sense of Place: Architecture, Culture, and History in the Arkansas Delta

A National Endowment for the Humanities Landmarks of American

History and Culture Workshop for K-12 grade(s) educators

(with content geared towards 6th-12th grades)

Alex Foundation

WHEN

Workshop 1  July 7 - July 13, 2024

Workshop 2  July 14 - July 20, 2024

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WHERE

A Sense of Place

Monticello, AR

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CONTACT

Angela Courtney, Project Director 

A Sense of Place

angela@alex-foundation.org

A Sense of Place is an essential aspect of architecture so that a design is maintained. Architecture forms a visual, spatial link between the past, present, and future, becoming a point in the timeline of a place and culture, capturing the history of a place, and telling that story through space.

A Sense of Place: Architecture, Culture and History in the Arkansas Delta is an Alex Foundation proposed six-day two-week residential workshop.  This proposed workshop will bring together 60, 6th-12th grade(s) educators from across the United States to learn about the important contributions and characteristics of the Arkansas Delta with architecture as a focus.

 

This National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) Landmarks of American History and Culture program will engage participants in learning about relevant Arkansas Delta landmarks and buildings of historical and cultural significance, from Prisoners of War internment prisons, cotton gins/commercial buildings, shotgun homes, paranormal homes and plantation homes to the African American, Asian American, Italian American, Native American, and Scottish American heritage that influence these places.  

Ethnic diversity in the Arkansas Delta has formed a significant part of the past and present Arkansas Delta, which has kept in place, the essentials of the cultures of origin, retaining distinctive identities, as well as intellectual and emotional bonds with traditions.

Described as the “Deepest of the Deep South” by author and historian William Gatewood in the book, The Arkansas Delta: A Land of Paradox, “the region is an area of land located around the Mississippi River and includes portions of Arkansas, Mississippi, and Louisiana.

 

The Arkansas Delta contains 15 counties in an area mostly rural with rich, fertile soil.” National Park Service, (2017) The Natural Environment: The Delta and Its Resources. https://www.nps.gov/locations/lowermsdeltaregion/the-natural-environment-the-delta-and-its-resources.htm.

Planned Site Experiences

Theme 1: Architecture, Preservation and Sustainability African Americans and the Plantation Home Architecture Style, Neoclassical

Theme 2: Architecture and Economics Italian Americans and Cotton Gins Architectural Style, Utilitarian

Theme 3:  Architecture and Rural Arkansas Delta Culture African Americans and the Shotgun Home Architecture Style, Vernacular

Theme 4: Architecture and Representation Asian Americans and the Japanese American Internment Museum Architectural Style, Mediterranean

Theme 5: Asian Americans and Internment Prisons Architecture Style:  Utilitarian

Theme 6: African Americans, Education/School Architectural Style: Industrial

Theme 7: Architecture and Identity African Americans, Native Americans, Mounds and Dogtrot Log Structures

Architectural Style: Vernacular

Theme 8: Architecture and Landmarks in Humanities Scottish Americans, Paranormal Home, and Monticello’s Historic District Architecture Style: Colonial Revival and Queen Anne Victorian

Application Schedule and Participant Selection

Participants are selected by a committee, which will consist of three or more members, including the project director(s) and at least one K-12 classroom teacher. They will evaluate all complete applications to select a group of participants and to identify alternates. Depending on public health guidelines related to COVID-19, plans for a residential offering are subject to change.

Participant Application Open: Dec 15, 2023

Participant Application Deadline: Mar 5, 2024 (1:30am CST / 11:59pm PST)  

Participant Application Notification: April 5, 2024   

Participant Acceptance Deadline: April 19, 2024  

Modern Architecture

Project Workshops

The first workshop dates will be July 7 - July 13, 2024, and the following week workshop dates will be July 14 - July 20, 2024. At least five spots in each workshop session will be reserved for new teachers.

Alex Foundation will work to accommodate continuing education credit for participants.  All participants will receive a certificate of attendance documenting the number of hours spent in the program.

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Sunnyside Plantation - Encyclopedia of Arkansas

Stipend

Each participant will receive a $1,300 stipend for a completed one-week Landmarks workshop. The stipend is intended to help offset travel, housing, meals, and basic academic expenses. Stipends are taxable.

Participant Evaluations:

The NEH requires project directors to collect anonymous participant evaluations at the conclusion of their programs. Unedited participant evaluation responses will be included in the project’s final report to the NEH and any future Institutes or Landmarks applications.

Equal Opportunity Statement:

Endowment programs do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, disability, or age. For further information, write to the Equal Opportunity Officer, National Endowment for the Humanities, 400 7th Street, SW, Washington, DC 20024. TDD: 202-606-8282 (this is a special telephone device for the Deaf).

Black and Red Building
Black and Red Building

COVID-19 PROTOCOLS

A Sense of Place is taking these measures to assure the 2024 A Sense of Place Workshops are as safe as possible:

DO I NEED TO BE VACCINATED AGAINST COVID-19 AND WEAR A MASK TO ATTEND A SENSE OF PLACE 2024?

Masks are still highly encouraged; however, they are not mandatory.  At this time local businesses in Arkansas have lifted their COVID vaccination requirement. Therefore, attendees will not be asked to show proof of vaccination or negative COVID tests upon entry. Should this policy change, we will notify attendees immediately.

  • If you have a positive test or are not feeling well prior to your arrival in Arkansas, please inform the A Sense of Place Team at angela@alex-foundation.org.

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