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CIC HISTORIANS TO PARTICIPATE IN
UNIQUE SEMINAR ON SLAVERY

WASHINGTON, D. C. - CIC and the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History announce the selection of faculty members in American history and related fields at CIC institutions to participate in an inaugural seminar to discuss the latest issues in slavery studies.
Of a pool of 125 faculty members nominated, CIC and the Gilder Lehrman Institute selected 32 CIC faculty members to participate in "The Slavery Debates: Problems in Slavery Studies Today," a week-long seminar to be held June 2-7 at Columbia University in New York City. (See list of participating faculty members below.) Participants will exchange ideas with one of the most renowned scholars of slavery in the world, David Brion Davis, Sterling Professor of History Emeritus at Yale and director of Yale's Gilder Lehrman Center for the Study of Slavery, Resistance, and Abolition. Davis has been awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Nonfiction, the National Book Award for History and Biography, the Bancroft Prize, and numerous other honors.

The seminar will include lectures and discussion groups, a guest presentation on slavery in the Caribbean by Harvard sociology professor Orlando Patterson, visits to scholarly archives, and a chance to visit "history high schools" in New York—special high schools and history programs throughout New York created and supported by the Gilder Lehrman Institute, where the students take an extra course of American history each day for four years.

Participants in the CIC/Gilder Lehrman seminar will examine the major scholarly works and turning points in the historiographical debates over slavery; new research on the slave trade, slave culture and resistance; changes in Western culture that made anti-slavery a possibility; and the differences among slaveholding regimes in New England, the Chesapeake, the Carolinas, Barbados, and other areas.

"Strengthening the teaching of American history at colleges and universities—especially on a topic as central to American life as the legacy of slavery—is of critical importance. The number of institutions that nominated faculty members who are active as scholars and teachers of this subject and who are leading major efforts at curricular reform on this and related subjects is most impressive," said CIC President Richard Ekman. "It is no overstatement to characterize this seminar as unique in all respects. We are most grateful to the Gilder Lehrman Institute for its confidence in CIC member institutions."

Lesley Herrmann, Executive Director of the Gilder Lehrman Institute, said "The Institute welcomes the chance to work with college faculty members, building on our successful track record of summer seminars for high school teachers and National Park Service (NPS) rangers. We are delighted to be working with CIC and its faculty members and look forward to building this network to enhance history education throughout the country."

For more information, visit the CIC website at www.cic.edu or contact Lesley Herrmann at (646) 366-9666 or herrmann@gilderlehrmann.org.

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The Gilder Lehrman Institute was established in 1994 to promote the study and the love of American history. The Institute organizes seminars and enrichment programs for teachers; supports and produces publications and traveling exhibitions; sponsors lectures by eminent historians; develops electronic resources; creates history high schools and extracurricular history programs; and founds research centers at universities and libraries.

The Council of Independent Colleges is an association of more than 500 independent, liberal arts colleges and universities and higher education affiliates and organizations. These institutions work together to support college leadership, advance institutional excellence, and enhance private higher education's contributions to society. To fulfill its mission, CIC provides ideas, resources, and services to assist institutions in improving leadership expertise, educational programs, administrative and financial performance, and institutional visibility. The Council is headquartered at One Dupont Circle in Washington, DC.

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CIC Participants in Gilder Lehrman Seminar

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