American Historical Association

Dear AHA Member,

Fortnightly News is the AHA's e-mail newsletter, 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:

AHA Today – Recent history news

News from Washington – Updates from NCH and NHA

ArchivesWiki - New and Updated Entries

Calendar – History Events

125th Anniversary Fund

Please feel free to forward this e-mail to your friends and colleagues.

AHA Today

Keep up with the latest information on history and the profession on the AHA’s blog, AHA Today. Recent posts include:

Bureau of the Census Seeks Nominations for Census Advisory Committee
The Bureau of the Census in the Department of Commerce is seeking ten nominations for organizations willing to participate on the 2010 Census Advisory Committee (2010 CAC).
Members, What’s New?
The Members column, which is published in Perspectives on History as space permits, is designed to recognize and honor the accomplishments of AHA members. News of recent hires, promotions, publications, fellowships or awards received, and other news of a professional nature are welcomed.
AHA Establishes Technology Advisory Committee
The Association has established a Technology Advisory Committee, to provide guidance to the AHA Council and staff on how the organization’s electronic publishing program might do better today and where it should be five years from now.
2010 Annual Meeting - Preregistration Now Open
It is now possible to register and book hotel accommodations for the 124th Annual Meeting in San Diego, January 7-10, 2010.
Also, see the most recent What We’re Reading (September 17 and September 24) and Grant of the Week posts (Hugh Davis Graham Award and Ernest Hemingway Research Grants).

News from Washington

In addition to AHA Today, the Association also draws on the efforts of a number of coalitions that support the Association's agenda to keep track of issues in the nation’s capital that will be of concern to historians. Here are news updates from some of them.

National Coalition for History (NCH)
- 2009 Secrecy Report Card Issued
  The 2009 Secrecy Report Card chronicles slight decreases in secrecy across a wide spectrum of indicators in the last year of the Bush-Cheney Administration. The report, released by a coalition of more than 70 open government advocates, also provides a six-month overview of the Obama Administration’s promise and practice on openness issues, and a section on financial transparency during the economic crisis.
- Presidential Historian Mark Updegrove Named to Head LBJ Library
  Acting Archivist of the United States Adrienne Thomas this week announced the appointment of presidential historian Mark K. Updegrove as the new director of the Lyndon Baines Johnson Presidential Library. His appointment is effective October 11, 2009.
- Anti-Museum Amendments Defeated in the Senate
  During floor consideration of the fiscal year 2010 Transportation Appropriations bill (HR 3288) an amendment offered by Senators Tom Coburn (R-OK) and John McCain (R-AZ) which would have prohibited any funding in the bill for museums was defeated by a vote of 41-57.

National Humanities Alliance
- Action Alert - Contact Your Representative Signatures needed for Dear Colleague letter to House conferees urging support of $170 million for NEH
- Save the Date for March 8-9, 2010 National Humanities Alliance Annual Meeting & Humanities Advocacy Day

ArchivesWiki - New and Updated Entries

Here are some of the archival institutions that have been recently added or updated on the AHA's ArchivesWiki. We hope you will find them useful, and will add any information about them you may have about them, or other institutions.

Calendar

The AHA’s online calendar lists upcoming meetings and seminars, research opportunities, awards and fellowships, internet resources, and exhibitions. Contribute your own announcement through this online form. Below we offer snippets of some of the current listings.

Symposium: After Freud Left: Centennial Reflections on His 1909 Visit to the United States—An international symposium marking the centennial of Sigmund Freud's iconic visit to the United States. The conference will take place October 3-4, 2009 at the New York Academy of Medicine and is open to anyone, registration on the New York Academy of Medicine web site ahead of time is requested.
Symposium: Air Force Historical Foundation Symposium. October 8, 2009, Balkans Air Campaigns in the 1990s & Their Influence Since 2001.
Online Event: Lincoln's Gettysburg Address—Online professional development for U.S. history teachers. Tuesday, Oct. 20, 2009, 7:00-8:30 p.m. (EST). Registration Deadline: Oct. 2, 2009.

Read more about all of these events and more at the AHA’s online calendar.

125th Anniversary Fund

We have already received generous support from many members of the Association. If you have not yet contributed, and would like to aid in the expansion of the Association’s public programs and outreach efforts, we hope you will give your support to the AHA 125th Anniversary Fund.

You can contribute to the fund online at www.historians.org/give or by check to AHA Anniversary Fund, 400 A St. S.E., Washington, DC 20003.

Please feel free to forward this email on to a colleague or friend.

Contributions to this issue of Fortnightly News came from: David Darlington, Elisabeth Grant, and Robert B. Townsend

Last Updated: October 1, 2009