2022 GWTI Digital Symposium

Teaching Martha Washington and the Women of the 18th Century

The George Washington Teacher Institute is excited to offer current K-12 educators the opportunity to participate in deep discussions and inquiries into the complexities of Martha Washington and the women of the 18th-century and the difficulties teaching these diverse and inclusive histories.  

This digital symposium will bring the best sessions of our popular, application-based residential program Martha Washington and the Women of the 18th Century, which explores the lives of 18th-century women of all backgrounds and the impact of their contributions to the founding of the United States, into your home this fall.

Sessions will range from:

• finding new ways to connect Martha Washington and her contemporaries to the broader subject of women’s history and topics of economic, political, social, and cultural history
• engaging with diverse source materials, such as documents, images, and material culture, that teach about the lives of 18th-century women
• investigating Martha Washington's relationship with slavery and examining the experiences of Mount Vernon's enslaved women
• discussing connections between women's rights during the founding era and legacies of these actions and inactions in the 21st century
• sharing best practices, strategies, and resources to facilitate conversations about women's rights and women's history with students in order to help them become agents of change