IHC still accepting applications for Summer 2006 seminars for Illinois educators.

CHICAGO—The Illinois Humanities Council (IHC) recently hosted a weekend renewal seminar for public librarians, “Uncommon Detectives: Gender, Multiculturalism and Detective Fiction.” Fifteen librarians from eleven Illinois communities gathered to consider the genre of detective fiction in its social, historical and cultural context. Dr. Susan Stall, Professor of Sociology at Northeastern Illinois University, led the seminar which explored examples of detective fiction in which gender, race, class and ethnicity inform the literature. This intellectual retreat took place at Starved Rock State Park on the weekend of March 24 and is part of the IHC’s “True Learning, True Teaching Seminars,” which provide Illinois K-12 teachers, librarians, and counselors the opportunity to take part in an intellectual retreat.

Applications for this summer’s Teacher Seminars are due April 15, 2006. Topics for this year’s seminars include “What Price Progress: the State and Fate of Our Species,” “Post-Millennium Main Street: American Town Life in the 21st Century,” and “Framing Nature: the History of Outdoor Photography.” For more information about the “True Learning, True Teaching” program, please contact Carole Cosimano or Clark Halker at 312.422.5580 or visit,

Created ten years ago by the IHC, the “True Learning, True Teaching” program rewards the state’s finest educators with opportunities for further learning and intellectual renewal. Each seminar contains a humanities focus, is interdisciplinary in scope, and is led by a prominent humanist scholar from a local college or university.

The following librarians participated in the “Uncommon Detectives: Gender, Multiculturalism, and Detective Fiction” program:

• Julaine (Julie) McLemore, Barrington Area Library (Barrington)
  
• Karen Kleckner, Deerfield Public Library (Deerfield)
  
• Roberta Johnson, DesPlaines Public Library (DesPlaines)
  
• Tatiana Calhamer, Gail Borden Public Library District (Elgin)
  
• Pamela Kloser, Joliet Public Library (Joliet)
  
• Nancy Martinez, Joliet Public Library (Joliet)
  
• Kay Chisamore, Ela Area Public Library (Lake Zurich)
  
• Kathleen Flatow, Ela Area Public Library (Lake Zurich)
  
• Connie Regan, Cook Memorial Public Library (Libertyvlle)
  
• Noreen Bormet, Manhattan Public Library District (Manhattan)
  
• Erskine Carter, Black Hawk College (Moline)
  
• Galen Leonhardy, Black Hawk College (Moline)
  
• Lisa Powell Williams, Moline Public Library (Moline)
  
• Carmen Ifkovits, Morton Grove Public Library (Morton Grove)
  
• Donna Roop, Waukegan Public Library (Waukegan)
  

Beyond providing intellectual renewal, the seminars provide a retreat atmosphere in which educators from diverse academic backgrounds and disciplines can gain deeper insight into their profession. Tuition, lodging, meals, and program materials are provided by the IHC. Though the seminars grow out of a belief in “learning for learning’s sake,” participants earn Continuing Education Units (CEUs).

Applications for this summer’s Teacher Seminars are due April 15, 2006. For more information about the “True Learning, True Teaching” program, please contact Carole Cosimano or Clark Halker at 312.422.5580 or visit www.prairie.org/TeacherSeminars.

The Illinois Humanities Council is a nonprofit educational organization [501 (c) 3] dedicated to fostering a culture in which the humanities are a vital part of the lives of individuals and communities. Organized in 1973 as the state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities, the IHC creates programs and funds organizations that promote greater understanding of, appreciation for, and involvement in the humanities. The IHC is supported by state, federal, and private funds.

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