NCTC to host history conference with keynote by Dr. Katherine Sharp Landdeck
North Central Texas College (NCTC) in coordination with the North Texas Community College Consortium will host the 2022 Teaching History Conference (TCON) from 8:00 am to 3:00 pm on Saturday, February 26, at the University of North Texas Gateway Center, 601 North Texas Boulevard, Denton. The purpose of the conference is to bring public school teachers, community college and university professors, history students, and interested community members together for a full day of scholarly presentations and stimulating conversations exploring the latest developments in historical scholarship.
“The NCTC Teaching History Conference is a wonderful opportunity for educators both in higher education and secondary education, to learn from each other by sharing best practices for teaching an ever growing and diverse population of students. Not only will attendees engage with experts in the field but they will also take new and innovative practices to the classroom,” noted Dr. Brent Wallace, NCTC Chancellor. “NCTC, with its campuses in Gainesville, Bowie, Graham and Denton County ( Downtown Denton, Corinth and Flower Mound), is committed to providing high quality, low cost educational opportunities for its service areas. Sponsoring the Teaching History Conference is one of many ways in which the college serves the community and supports collegiate engagement.”
The first Teaching History Conference co-sponsored by NCTC and NTCCC was held in September of 2019 with the expectation that it would be a sustainable annual event. Unfortunately, due to the COVID pandemic, the conference was cancelled in 2020 and 2021. In the spring of 2021, the Teaching History Conference Committee reconvened and began working on the program for a 2022 event. Jane England, Chair of the Conference, explained that “The NCTC Administration and Board saw the value of faculty interacting, not only with leading scholars, but also with our colleagues from local public schools and universities and interested parties from the community at large. We are grateful for the opportunity to continue this collaboration.”
The overall theme for the 2022 conference, “New Approaches to Old Topics: Heroines and Heroes,” offers an opportunity to explore the concept of heroism from a variety of perspectives. Featured speakers include Gregg Cantrell, Professor of History, Erma and Ralph Lowe Chair in Texas History at Texas Christian University (“Thomas L. Nugent: Populist Hero”); Jacqueline Chao, Senior Curator( “Heroes and Heroines in the Crow Museum of Asian Art”); Charlotte Decoster, Ackerman Family Director of Education for the Dallas Holocaust and Human Rights Museum,(“Upstanders in American History: Lessons and Resources”); Kevin Eubanks, NCTC Professor of English ("The Marvel Project: Remaking US History through Superhero Films"); Brittany Hancock, NCTC History Professor (“Marcus Garvey's The Black Star Line: Hopes, Dreams, and The S.S. Yarmouth”); Kate Imy, UNT Assistant Professor of History (“Whose Heroes? Rethinking Race, Gender and Heroism in the British Empire’s World Wars”); Richard McCaslin, UNT/TSHA Professor of Texas History (“Waldine Amanda Tauch: Texas Sculptor”); Pia Jakobsson, UT Dallas, Assistant Dean of Graduate Studies, School of Arts & Humanities (“The Woman Question”); David A. Smith, Baylor University Senior Lecturer in History, (“The Hero Comes Home: Military Heroism and American Culture”).
This year’s keynote speaker is Dr. Katherine Sharp Landdeck, who earned her doctorate at the University of Tennessee and is an Associate Professor of History and Director of Pioneers Oral History Project at Texas Woman’s University. Her areas of expertise include twentieth century US history, public history, and global war. She is internationally known for her research on World War II women Airforce pilots. Dr. Landdeck’s presentation will be based on her acclaimed book Women with Silver Wings: The Inspiring True Story of the Women Airforce Service Pilots of World War II. Additionally, she earned an Emmy nomination for her role as producer and historian for the film "Silver Wings, Flying Dreams: The Complete Story of the Women Airforce Service Pilots." Her other documentary film work includes contributions as a featured historian on the A & E /History Channel two-hour documentary on Pearl Harbor as well as the History Channel film on unknown stories of World War II.
“We are pleased with our entire line-up of outstanding scholars. With sessions in Texas, American and World history, we believe that teachers at all levels will benefit and that community members will also find topics that interest them. Perhaps most important, after two years of isolation, we history buffs will enjoy a full day of getting to know each other,” Professor England said.
The Teaching History Conference (TCON) creates a unique and inexpensive professional development opportunity for local educators. Public school teachers will receive Continuing Education Certificates. The cost of Early Registration is $45 (includes continental breakfast and luncheon). Parking is $2.50 per vehicle. The cost will increase to $55 On Site/Day of Registration and $5.00 for On Site/Day of Parking.
A detailed program is available at http://ntxccc.org/events/2022-teaching-history-conference.
