KCAC
teachers and their students in every city around the U.S. study ways that
American communities have been formed in varying times and place.
Reclaiming
Displaced Heritages:recovering
aspects of history and local culture that could be undervalued or misunderstood
by future generations
Cultivating
Homelands:shaping the natural environment and drawing upon it
for support, while honoring traditions of shared rural life
Educating
for Citizenship:developing schooling approaches that prepare community
members for active engagement in America's democratic governments
Building
Cities:designing vibrant living spaces that bring urban work and
play together to represent core values of communal culture
Shifting
Landscapes, Converging Peoples:re-configuring contemporary suburban
landscapes and social practices to balance a region's local heritage with
newcomers' cultural contributions;
While organizing
their work around one or more of these general themes, KCAC teachers
and students often focus on specific instances of productive tension between
regional and national culture and the formation of distinct periods when
particular groups were trying to reconcile aspirations for being "American"
with specific local concerns, values, and social practices.
For
instance, in Georgia, a particular application of the "Reclaiming
Displaced Heritages" 
theme
has been to recover the story of the Cherokee in the northwest part of
the state--prior to, during, and after their forced Removal. Among other
things, this study has examined why some Cherokee in Georgia sought to
"Americanize" their clothing, homes, writing, and other community practices
in the hope of being accepted by the new white men's nation.
Along similar
lines, for the "Building Cities"
theme, Georgia participants focused first on 
Atlantans'
efforts to invent a strong identity for their city in the years between
WWII and the close of the twentieth century. In particular, this inquiry
group studied the creation of numerous Atlanta cultural institutions (e.g.,
museums, historical centers) clearly reflecting community members' desire
to claim a national/international vision for the city.
