20th-Century Latine Boston: Women, Cultural Diplomacy and the Pan-American Dream
Saturday, September 20th 2025
9:00 AM-4:00 PM
Saturday, September 20th 2025
9:00 AM-4:00 PM
Presented by the Massachusetts Historical Society
Workshop Syllabus
K-12 participants may complete this course for either 22.5 History/Social Science PDPs OR 1 graduate credit courtesy of Worcester State University. WSU charges an additional fee of $125 for the graduate credit. Let us know which form of credit you prefer on the day of the workshop.
To complete the course and receive credits, participants must attend the hybrid panel on September 18th, the workshop on September 20th, and the post-workshop and complete pre- and post- workshop assignments. Pre-workshop assignments are listed below and must be completed prior to the first day of the workshop (September 20th). Post-workshop assignments are listed on p6-11 of the syllabus and are due on or before EOD on Tuesday, October 21st 2025 (email to education@masshist.org).
Workshop Agenda
Scholar Panel: Thursday, September 18th, 6:00 PM-7:30 PM at the Massachusetts Historical Society (hybrid; Zoom link)
Teacher Workshop: Saturday, September 20th, 9:00 AM-4:00 PM at the Massachusetts Historical Society
Assignments: due EOD Tuesday, October 21, 2025. Email to education@masshist.org.
Post-Workshop Zoom: Saturday, October 25th, 10 AM-11:30 AM
The MHS is a short walk from the Hynes Convention Center stop on the MBTA Green Line, and by several bus lines. The MHS does not have a parking lot, but we recommend the Haviland Garage next door for those driving.
Please read or listen to the following assignments prior to the workshop on 9/20:
Read excerpts from “Pan-Americanism and Diego Rivera,” sections Pan-Americanism: Bolivar’s Vision and Pan-Americanism from the U.S. Perspective
Watch “Greg Grandlin: How US Empire Changed in the 20th Century”
After reading, please respond to the prompts on our workshop padlet prior to the beginning of the workshop.
Thursday's Panel
Link to download slides as PowerPoint (to preserve formatting: Embracing Unity The Spirit of Pan Americanism.pptx.
Link to view slides in Canva: https://www.canva.com/design/DAGy9oRpP9E/t2i8lAUjrEeTLdryXQC6Yg/edit
Timeline Cards
Timeline List of Dates
Club Español de Boston Event Cards Activity
Spanish Ball and Grand Costume Ball
Club Español de Boston Members List, 1936-37
Pages from Pan American Society Scrapbooks
Workshop Assignments (found p. 6-11 in the Workshop Syllabus) due EOD Tuesday, October 21, 2025 – Email to education@masshist.org
Part 1: Read or Listen and respond to your choice of FOUR of the following readings or podcasts and write a response journal entry for each of the three (see journal entry instructions)
Part 2: Design your own classroom activity for your students using at least three primary or secondary sources and/or inquiry methods that you encountered at the Massachusetts Historical Society workshop; OR modify an existing lesson plan, using the Activity Plan Template . Please include 2-3 questions for the other teachers who will review your activity.
After completing your activity, upload it to this Google Folder by the deadline of 10/21. Make sure it is set so that anyone with the link can view.
Part 3: After the deadline on 10/21. Review at least five lesson plans from other workshop attendees and take notes on them for our reflection, responding to the questions they pose in the Activity Plan Template. DO NOT post the notes online; we will use them for our discussion on 10/25!
“Letter from Jamaica,” Simón Bolívar (1815)
“Pan American Women: U.S. Internationalists and Revolutionary Mexico, By Megan Threlkeld , 2014”
Read Introduction (p1-14)
Boston's Latin Quarter Documentary
"The 'Browncoats' are Coming": Latino Public History in Boston, by Félix V. Matos Rodríguez
[00:00-16:25, 38:50-end]
Housing as History: Villa Victoria and the Fenway Community Development Corporation
Latino/Latina Activism & Identity: The "We Raise Our Voices" Showcase
Latinx-Led Nonprofits in Boston Today: Contributions, Challenges, and Lessons Learned
Hispanics in the Neighborhood: A Case Study of Refugees in Towns, East Boston MA
“Teaching with Ephemera,” Julia Gardner and David Pavelich, American Library Association
“Writing with Scissors: What the 99 Percent Read, and and Saved,” Ellen Gruber Garvey
“What is “ephemera”? The Ephemera Society of America
“Disability in the Archive: Freaks & Geeks” Meg Szydlik, Massachusetts Historical Society
“Communicating the Value of Inclusive History,” Episode 4 of the Reframing History Podcast, American Association for State and Local History, (April 2022). (transcript available here)
Teaching Central America Online Resources
Coming Soon: Miriam Villanueva curricular materials for Latin American history; additional images from Pan American Society collections
PDF with excerpts from book