Dear Colleague,

Thank you for your interest in Not Just a Scenic Road: The Blue Ridge Parkway and Its History, a two-week long Landmarks of American History and Culture workshop sponsored by the National Endowment for the Humanities. The workshop is hosted by Appalachian State University, which is located less than five miles from the Blue Ridge Parkway in Boone, North Carolina. Participants will have a chance to experience the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains while learning about the history behind the most visited National Park Service site. Based on the campus of Appalachian State University, participants will spend mornings in combination lecture and discussions along with hands-on sessions working with a variety of primary sources. They will also collect materials and ideas for use in developing curriculum projects. Each afternoon, we will take field trips to explore many of the cultural resources along the Parkway. Evenings will be free to explore the Appalachian Mountain town of Boone, work in the state of the art library, or relax at one of the many local coffee shops while enjoying some traditional Appalachian music. Throughout the week, participants will have many chances to interact with faculty who are experts on the history of the Blue Ridge Parkway and the region of Appalachia as well as meet rangers and managers from the National Park Service.

Workshop Dates

Session I: July 4-10
Session II: July 11-17

Applications are due by March 2, 2010.

Updated workshop information for 2010 will be posted soon. Please check back and thank you for your interest. In the meantime, if you would like to be added to our mailing list, please send a request to brpasu@appstate.edu.

Teachers selected to participate will receive a stipend of $1200 at the end of the residential workshop session. Stipends are intended to help cover living expenses, books, and travel expenses to and from the workshop location. Travel supplements will be available, but will be allocated on a case-by-case basis after the workshop session is over.

We hope you will join us!