Summer Civics Institutes

To mark the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, SCiLL offered two immersive summer institutes on UNC’s campus: one for North Carolina high school teachers, and one for high school students. These institutes offer a rare opportunity to unplug from screens and test prep and instead spend sustained, focused time reading, questioning, and discussing foundational texts together in a seminar setting. Guided by SCiLL faculty, participants will practice close reading, careful listening, and civil disagreement—the core skills of democratic citizenship.

At the heart of the institutes is a fully residential learning experience designed to foster intellectual community as well as academic depth. Living and studying together allows participants to continue conversations beyond the classroom and build relationships that support learning long after the program ends. Teachers form a professional cohort that can share strategies for incorporating primary sources into their courses, promoting civil discourse, navigating classroom challenges, and continuing their own study of American history. Students engage deeply with primary texts in the American political tradition while also forming social and intellectual friendships with peers from across the state and developing a lasting connection to UNC–Chapel Hill.

Rather than relying on a single narrative, the institutes center on primary sources: the Declaration of Independence, selections from the Federalist and Anti-Federalist Papers, and key constitutional debates involving Jefferson, Taney, Lincoln, and Frederick Douglass. By encountering these voices directly, students and teachers grapple with the real tensions, disagreements, and moral challenges at the heart of American constitutionalism, including enduring debates over liberty, equality, and slavery.

Designed for teachers seeking rich, flexible materials and for students eager to understand how America’s civic arguments unfolded, the institutes aim to cultivate habits of careful reading, thoughtful discussion, and informed judgment. In doing so, SCiLL hopes to plant lasting seeds for serious study of history and civics in classrooms and communities across North Carolina.