What Makes a Nation? – Summer 2024
When: August 1 – 2, 2024
Where: Boise State University
Cost: $50
About the Conference
This year’s conference, themed “What Makes a Nation?,” will be held August 1 – 2, 2024, at Boise University. It is our second annual conference offering content-rich, teaching-centric sessions filled with cutting edge approaches to learning (the program for this year’s conference is available via pdf, and an article on last year’s conference is published as well). Presenters are Boise State faculty, award-winning master teachers in history, government and other disciplines, and local or regional scholars with expertise on an aspect of the conference theme. Conference attendees may register for Professional Development credit through Boise State for an additional $60 (see below).
This conference will provide opportunities to engage questions of nation, national identity, nationhood and nationalism in the modern world from a variety of social studies and cultural perspectives, as well as to look back in history to consider how the understanding of community and nationhood has changed. Questions about the limits of nationhood raised by issues of Human Rights and Globalization will also be in play.
Keynote Speaker
The keynote speaker for this year’s conference is comparative political scientist Dr. Shelley Rigger, Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean of Faculty, as well as the Brown Professor of East Asian Politics at Davidson College in North Carolina. Dr. Rigger has an impressive professional biography on issues concerning China and Taiwan, as well as experience guiding secondary teachers on issues involving nationhood. (More on Dr. Rigger can be found on her Davidson College webpage.)
Breakout Sessions
In addition to the keynote, there will be plenary sessions presented by Idaho Public Television, and by the US Department of Justice on the relations between the Federal and Tribal governments considering how shared history can make a path toward greater reconciliation.
Breakout sessions led by Boise State faculty, as well as fellow teachers, will explore content a pedagogy topics as diverse as Gaming in the Classroom, Testing Loyalty and Citizenship: Japanese American Internees in Minidoka, An Interdisciplinary Approach to the History of Mexican, Immigrants and Migrants in Idaho: Lessons for the Classroom, From Choseon to K-Pop: Making the Korean Nation in the Twentieth Century, Amalgamation Pedagogy Project: Promoting Democracy Through Critical Pedagogy, Encouraging student volunteerism in local government, The Deep Roots of Nations in Mimetic Rivalry: the Revelatory Thought of Rene Girard, Exploring What Makes a Nation through Hexagonal Thinking and Writing, A Main Cause?: Growing European Nationalism on the Eve of World War I, Critical Thinking in the Age of AI, Democracy and Nationalism: Do the Twain Meet?”, The Basque Country: An example of a Stateless Nation, The New Deal, World War II, and the Making of a New National Economy, Refugees in Boise, Patriotism vs Nationalism: A Document Based Inquiry, Engaged Citizenship in Idaho, Rules of Notice for Analyzing Primary Documents, Nations and theirs Songs, and Diversifying and Localizing Idaho Histories. There will also be a student advising and mentoring session for pre-service teachers.
Visitors to Boise
Once again this year, conference attendees will have privileged access to the Stein Luminary, and visitors to Boise may enjoy the nearby Wassmuth Center for Human Rights: Home of the Anne Frank Memorial, the Capitol Building, Idaho State Museum, the Basque Museum & Cultural Center, the Old Idaho Penitentiary, Preservation Idaho’s Walking Tours of historic sites and much more!
Professional Development Credit for “What Makes a Nation” Conference is Available Now
To register and pay for professional development credit through Boise State University, please check the K-12 Professional Development Registration Form page. The registration and payment process is quick and easy to complete, but if you encounter any problems, please feel free to contact Extended Studies Customer Service for assistance at (208) 426-1709.
Credit Registration Deadline: August 2, 2024
Register via the K-12 Professional Development Registration Form page
Transcript Date: Summer 2024
If you have any questions, please contact the Extended Studies Customer Service at (208) 426-1709 or email ExtendedStudies@boisestate.edu.
To learn about other credit opportunities available through Boise State, please visit the K-12 Professional Development website.