Dear Colleague, Henry Ford Community College in Dearborn, Michigan, is pleased to invite applicants to a National Endowment for the Humanities-sponsored Landmarks of American History and Culture Workshop for Community College Faculty in the summer of 2008. The six-day workshop is entitled, “Henry Ford and the History of American Industry, Labor, and Culture.” Two sessions will be offered: June 8-13 and June 15-20.

An Aerial View of the Rouge Plant Courtesy of the Walter Reuther Library

Workshop Overview

     “Machinery is the new messiah,” declared Henry Ford.  Farm boy, tinkerer, inventor, and corporate titan, Ford lived by this mantra.  By 1927 he had constructed the largest industrial complex in the world—the Rouge plant in Dearborn, Michigan. Vanity Fair magazine in 1928 effusively declared the Rouge “the most significant public monument in America”—outshining the United States Senate, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the Statue of Liberty.  At “the Rouge,” the revolution Henry Ford had begun with the Model T two decades earlier—the manufacture of an affordable automobile on a moving assembly line and the creation of a blue-collar middle class—dynamically evolved throughout the twentieth and into the twenty-first century.  The Rouge and its creator, “the sage of Dearborn,” ultimately transformed the world through mass production.  The sites of this technological and social revolution—the Piquette Plant (birthplace of the Model T in 1908), the Highland Park Plant (the paradigm of the international phenomenon known as “Fordism”), and the recently refurbished Rouge Factory—will provide the foundation for participant dialogue. 

     This Landmarks Workshop invites faculty from a broad range of disciplines to explore the nature and relevance of the cultural, social, and commercial revolution generated by Henry Ford.   The seminar will thrive on the combined perspectives of faculty from disciplines such as art history, history, social science, literature, library science, and other specialties distinctive to community colleges.   

Dates and Location

     Henry Ford Community College invites community college faculty and staff to experience and explore the heritage of Henry Ford, his manufacturing processes, and his remarkable factories in a Landmarks of American History Workshop.  Headquartered at the Michigan Technical Education Center at Henry Ford Community College directly across from the Rouge Plant, this Workshop invites prospective participants to apply for one of two sessions: 

June 8—13, 2008

or

June 15—20, 2008

 Daily Schedule

     Daily sessions of the workshop will each be devoted to investigating a particular theme.  The topics include (1) Henry Ford and Manufacturing History, (2) Henry Ford and Labor History, (3) Henry Ford as Icon, (4) The Diego Rivera Murals, and (5) The Contemporary Ford Rouge Plant.

Morning seminars on these topics featuring distinguished scholars and commentators presenting contrasting perspectives will convene for discussion and debate at the M-TEC (Michigan Technical Education Center). Each session will be followed by a tour that will enhance the morning’s dialogue. Participants will visit sites such as the Ford Rouge Plant, the Diego Rivera Detroit Industrial Murals (at the Detroit Institute of Arts), the Henry Ford Museum, the Fair Lane Estate, Greenfield Village, the Piquette (Model T) Ford Plant, the Benson Ford Archives, the Burton Archives, and the Walter Reuther Labor Archives. Transportation to seminar and tour sites will be provided to participants. 

     Afternoon sessions will include opportunities for archival research. The cultural and recreational activities in the evenings available to participants include an architectural tour of Detroit; concerts at the Meadowbrook and DTE Energy Music Festivals; drama at the Gem, Fisher, and Fox Theatres; swimming and exercise at the expansive Dearborn Community Center; Detroit Tiger baseball; and dining at the metropolitan area’s vast array of ethnic restaurants. Other attractions easily accessible by automobile include Detroit’s celebrated new city center (Campus Martius), the Motown Music Museum,  and the Detroit Zoo. 

 Major Themes and Tours

The Henry Ford Workshop will be driven by an incisive dialogue from start to finish.  The morning presenters will determine the direction of this exchange.

     In Monday’s session (“Henry Ford and Manufacturing History”) Stephen Meyer, professor of History and Urban Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and author of The Five Dollar Day:  Labor, Management and Social Control in the Ford Motor Company, 1908-1921, will profile manufacturing operations and policy at the Ford Highland Park factory.   In the same session, Lindy Biggs, Professor of History at Auburn University and author of The Rational Factory will discuss the evolving design of the Ford Rouge complex.  Kristin Dziczek, Senior Project Manager at the Center for Automotive Research in Ann Arbor, Michigan, will complement these historical profiles with an analysis of the contemporary crisis at Ford Motor Company.  In the afternoon participants will tour the Henry Ford Museum, hear a mini-lecture on Henry Ford’s role in military production, and begin research projects at the Benson Ford archives. 

     In Tuesday’s session (“The Henry Ford and Labor History”) Michael Smith, Director of the Walter Reuther Library of Labor and Urban Affairs, will trace a century  of dramatic confrontations of labor and management at Ford Motor Company. Professor Smith, who directs the Graduate Department of Archival Administration at Wayne State University, will not only analyze Ford labor history but also will discuss effective approaches to archival research. In this session, Steve Babson, program specialist at the Labor Studies Center at Wayne State University and author of Working Detroit, will speak to contemporary labor issues at the Ford Rouge Plant, such as the automation and the internationalization of production. Following this seminar, participants will visit sites marking two historic labor conflicts in metropolitan Detroit: the route of the Ford Hunger March (1932) and the location of the Battle of the Rouge Overpass (1937).  The tour will continue to Hart Plaza in Detroit, site of the recently dedicated Labor Legacy Landmark, and conclude at the Walter Reuther Labor Archives (where documents of unions such as the UAW, United Farm Workers, and Industrial Workers of the World are preserved and catalogued.)   At the Reuther archives, participants will be afforded time to continue working on their personal research projects. 

     In Wednesday’s session (Henry Ford as Icon) the discussion highlights Henry Ford as a corporate titan and folk hero. William Spriggs, Chairman of the Economics Department at Howard University, will evaluate Henry Ford’s reputation within the African American community and discuss the significance of employment within the automobile industry for African Americans. In this seminar Michael Daher, professor of’ English at Henry Ford Community College and co-author of the oral history series, Recollections of Henry Ford, will profile Henry Ford’s image in popular culture, literature, and art.  The morning dialogue will be followed by lunch at Henry Ford’s Fair Lane Estate After lunch participants will tour the Estate and then explore Greenfield Village, an outdoor museum that Henry Ford deemed one of his prime accomplishments. Participants will also have the opportunity to continue their research at the Benson Ford Archives. 

     In Thursday’s session (The Detroit Industrial Murals of Diego Rivera) Nancy Jones, Director of Education at the Detroit Institute of Arts, will introduce participants to Rivera’s spectacular murals in the courtyard of the Institute.  Her profile will identify the themes and explain the techniques that Rivera employed in creating the frescoes that cover the four walls of the courtyard.  In this session Dora Apel, professor of Art History at Wayne State University, will trace Rivera’s capacity to provoke dynamic public response by exploring how, in the words of one commentator, “the murals belonged to anyone, including the Communist Party, who used the murals to win new members; civil rights leaders, who sought support from the working class; and corporate executive recruiters”   This seminar constitutes a tour in itself, but will also be followed by visits to the Burton Archives of the Detroit Public Library (for research) and to the Ford Piquette (Model T) plant, where Robert Casey, Curator of Transportation at the Henry Ford Museum will discuss (in the year of its centennial) the rise and fall of the Tin Lizzie.  

     Friday’s seminar (The Contemporary Rouge) will conclude the Landmarks Workshop. The Ford Motor Director of Vehicle Operations at the Rouge Plant will provide an overview of the environmental and manufacturing innovations of the redesigned factory, particularly as they relate to the competitive capacity of the plant within the international arena. Jerry Sullivan, President of U.A.W. Local 600 (serving the Rouge), will address developments and current issues at Ford Motor Company from a labor perspective.  Their commentaries will include debate regarding corporate and labor priorities. In addition, Linda West, Director of the Michigan Technical Education Center, will describe the culture of the workforce at the Rouge and explain the role of ongoing workplace education at the factory. The entire session will take place in the main conference room of Local 600.  Participants will conclude the workshop with their final tour—a visit to the operational Rouge complex—followed by a seminar to assess the week’s activities.   

 Crafting workshop projects 

     Archival sessions will afford participants the opportunity to develop a Workshop project.  The project may have one of two principal emphases:  1) planning directed toward curricular and course development, or 2) research directed toward the composition of an analytical essay.  Directors of the three main archives to be employed in the Henry Ford Landmarks Workshop will present detailed profiles of the resources and methodology appropriate to each archive, with a particular emphasis on electronic resources. 

     Four essential texts will be provided to Workshop participants:  Stephen Meyer’s The Five Dollar Day; Lindy Biggs’, The Rational Factory; Steve Babson’s  Working Detroit; and Linda Downs’ Diego Rivera:  The Detroit Industry Murals.  These and other selected readings will serve as background reading assignments for the Workshop and will furnish nascent material for curricular and research projects. The books will be sent to participants several weeks before the Workshop begins. Participants will draw on seminar dialogues, tours, and archives to work on individual project goals. The Workshop website will assist participants in organizing such material.  Developing a Workshop project will constitute a main participant activity. Throughout the workshop week, participants will have computer access in day and evening hours at Henry Ford Community College.  The Hampton Inn (the Workshop residency) is a wireless zone. Applicants will also have access to the Henry Ford Community College and University of Michigan-Dearborn libraries. 

Applicant Qualifications

     The project welcomes applications from faculty in English, history, art history, philosophy, anthropology, political science, government, and other humanities-related disciplines. Vocational faculty who might advise their students to take humanities courses, or who provide humanistic perspectives in their teaching of technology are encouraged to apply.   Adjunct faculty are also eligible. 

Residency

     Participants will lodge at the Hampton Inn, several blocks from the main campus of Henry Ford Community College in Dearborn, and a five-minute drive from the Michigan Technical Education Center.  The facilities of the Hampton Inn include an indoor pool and an exercise and fitness center.  The hotel provides a complimentary continental breakfast, afternoon snack, and coffee. All guest rooms and public spaces offer wireless access. The hotel provides parking to guests without charge. Downtown Dearborn with a variety of excellent restaurants is within easy walking distance. Shopping at the Fairlane Town Center Mall is accessible about a quarter mile from the hotel. The fixed room rate at the Hampton Inn is $45 per night per guest—double occupancy. Single rooms are available upon request.

NEH Stipend

     The stipend awarded by NEH for each participant in the Henry Ford Landmarks  Workshop will be $500.  Participants must pay living expenses and travel costs from this stipend.  Participants traveling from long distances may apply for supplementary funding—which will be awarded on a case by case basis.  

Landmarks Workshop Certificate

     All participants will be eligible to receive a formal certificate of completion to present for continuing education units or in-service credit from their school district or state.  Signed certificates will be mailed to each participant after his/her research project is evaluated. 

Application Procedure

     To make an application to participate in the Landmarks of American History Workshop, “Henry Ford and the History of American Industry, Labor, and Culture,”

            1)  Review the NEH Landmark Project Participant Application Guidelines (attachment),

            2)  Fill out a cover sheet on line.  The link for the on-line cover sheet is

http://www.neh.gov/online/education/participants/  

and

3)) Download the cover sheet and attach a copy to each of the three sets of application materials to be mailed to Henry Ford Community College.       

     Perhaps the most essential part of the completed application is the essay of one to two double-spaced pages. This essay should include information about 1) your professional background and interest in the main themes of the Workshop, 2) your special perspectives, skills, or experiences that would contribute to the Workshop, and 3) your conception of how Workshop resources and activities would enhance your teaching and/or research. The application should be accompanied by a letter of recommendation from a division/department chair or other professional reference (such as a colleague or dissertation advisor.) The recommendation should specifically support your application. Your completed application should be postmarked no later than March 17, 2008.  All applications must be in hard copy and sent to

Dr. Michael Daher
English Division
Henry Ford Community College
5101 Evergreen Road
Dearborn, MI 48128

We look forward to welcoming you to Dearborn for an engaging week of exploration, dialogue, and discovery.  

For further information, please

·       Call Michael Daher, Project Director, at 313-845-6457, or

·       Email Marlene Wojtiwicz at neh@hfcc.edu

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