Dear AHA Member,
Fortnightly News is the AHA's new e-mail newsletter to be sent out around the first and fifteenth of every month to keep members up to date with the AHA and the history profession.
In this Issue
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123rd Annual Meeting
The 123rd Annual Meeting, held this year in New York, wrapped up on Monday, January 5, 2009. This year’s meeting drew a record number of registrants, 5,973 in all.
One outcome of the meeting was the Council’s Resolution on the 2010 Meeting in San Diego.
Participants, along with those who weren’t able to make it this year, may be interested in the AHA’s blog coverage of the event. Also, check out footage shot by Historians TV, sponsored by a number of history departments and organizations.
124th Annual Meeting
Even as many of us are still recovering from the last meeting, it is already time to look ahead to the next meeting, to be held January 7–10, in San Diego, California.
The deadline for submitting panels is just one month away (on February 15th), so we encourage you to start working with friends and colleagues to develop exceptional sessions that can match this year's meeting.
Proposals are being accepted in all areas and fields of history and using a variety of presentation forms (traditional sessions, roundtables, posters, and the like). If you have an interesting topic, but need an extra participant or two, we encourage you to solicit panelists on the relevant H-Net listserv. In the past, this has proven to be one of the best methods for assembling sessions. Panels can be submitted at http://aha.confex.com/aha/2010/cfp.cgi.
Also, please note that for this meeting, the Association will be putting together a special series of sessions that will address issues of equity and place questions of marriage and family in historical perspective (for more information see this AHA Today post).
January Perspectives on History
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The year 2009 marks the 125th year of the AHA’s existence, and the cover of the January issue of Perspectives on Historylooks back with an image of the 1909 Annual Meeting. See Jessica Pritchard’s article, “How Times Have Changed! (Or Have They!),” for more on the 1909 meeting, which was held in New York.
Despite the cover art and the article on the 1909 meeting, the January issue of Perspectives on History focuses very much on current times and activities:
- Laurel Thatcher Ulrich examines why historians have been joining the association in recent years, in her first article as AHA president.
- Robert Townsend takes a look at the job market, two historians are awarded the 2008 Kluge Prize, and Wm. Roger Louis resigns from HAC.
- Lee White covers the news from Washington.
- New officers, elected in 2008, for the AHA’s Council and committees begin their positions, even as nominations for the 2009 election begin.
- Finally, with the conclusion of every annual meeting comes the start of proposals for the next.
Find also in this issue two articles on teaching: Robert Shaffer’s “Misleading Analogies and Historical Thinking: The War in Iraq as Case Study” and Nancy Shoemaker’s “Where Is the History Lab Course?.“ The Masters at the Movies series continues with an introduction from Robert Brent Toplin and a look at “The World War II Antiwar Film” by John Bodnar.
Three articles, plus an introduction, tackle the subject of “crafting a dissertation or monograph.” Brad S. Gregory takes on “Managing the Terror,” Deborah E. Harkness discusses “Finding the Story,” and Judith Walkowitz delves into taking notes.
Finally, take a look at the letter to the editor and three “In Memoriam” entries in this selection of content from the January 2009 issue of Perspectives on History, now online.
Humanities Advocacy Day
National Humanities Alliance will hold its 2009 Conference & Humanities Advocacy Day March 10-11, in Washington, D.C. Historians are encouraged to attend. NHA wants to make a strong first impression on the new administration and Congress as they formulate a policy agenda for the next 4-8 years, and beyond.
The conference program includes panel discussions on how to make the case for the humanities; the newly released Humanities Indicators prototype; and science and the humanities. A Capitol Hill Reception and Congressional visits will provide the opportunity to speak with policymakers about how useful the humanities are in addressing current public policy challenges.
A special pre-conference event hosted by the American Academy of Arts & Sciences on “Humanities and Culture in a Civil Society” is scheduled for the evening of March 9. A distinguished panel will share their views on the important role of the humanities in a civil society. Speakers include: Edward L. Ayers, President, University of Richmond; Francis Oakley, President Emeritus and Edward Dorr Griffin Professor of the History of Ideas, Williams College; Don Michael Randel, President, The Mellon Foundation; David Souter, Associate Justice, United States Supreme Court; and Patricia Q. Stonesifer, Chairwoman, Smithsonian Institution.
For instructions on how to register for NHA Conference & Humanities Advocacy Day and for more information vist http://www.nhalliance.org/. The registration deadline is February 4, 2009.
ICHS Call for Papers and Congress Registration
The next congress of the International Committee of Historical Sciences (ICHS) will be held in Amsterdam in 2010, from August 22-28. Paper proposals are being accepted until February 1, 2009.
You can send in a paper proposal by filling in the registration form on their web site www.ichs2010.org/register.asp. All participants need to register through this online form; final registration and payment can be made at a later date.
The International Congress of Historical Sciences takes place every five years. This congress provides an ideal venue for extensive reports, papers, debates, exchanges, and meetings reflecting historical research in action. It is the meeting place for the global community of historians.
For more information, the preliminary program, and instructions on how to register go to www.ichs2010.org or e-mail info@ichs2010.org
AHA Headquarters Office Closures
The AHA’s headquarters office will be closed January 19 and 20, in observance of federal holidays for Martin Luther King, Jr. and the presidential inauguration.
AHA Today
Some recent posts on the AHA’s blog, AHA Today, include:
- What We’re Reading: 123rd Annual Meeting Edition
- History Podcasts, Take 2
- How to Not Fail as President
- AHA Council Adopts Resolution on the 2010 Meeting in San Diego
- Daily Overviews from the Annual Meeting: Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday
- Annual Meeting Sessions and Events: Opening of the 123rd Annual Meeting; 2009 General Meeting; Old Stuff, New Tricks
Please feel free to forward this email on to a colleague or friend.
Contributions to this issue of Fortnightly News came from:
Elisabeth Grant, Arnita Jones, and Robert B. Townsend
Last Updated: January 15, 2009
