Fortnightly News
 

Dear AHA Member,

AHA news and updates for the history profession.

In this issue:

    News

    1. Perspectives on History – November 2010
    2. Online Member Services
    3. 2010 Midterm Elections: Why They Matter
    4. Calling All Contingent Faculty – Deadline: Nov. 30

    Annual Meeting

    1. Annual Meeting 2011 Updates
    2. Be a Mentor at the Annual Meeting
    3. Session of the Week

    Other News

    1. AHA Today – Recent history news
    2. News from Washington – Updates from NCH, NHA, and COSSA

 

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Perspectives on History – November 2010

The online version of the November issue of Perspectives on History is now available to AHA members (sign in to member services to gain full access).

Annual Meeting
Much of the content in this month’s issue addresses the AHA’s upcoming annual meetings. AHA Executive Director Jim Grossman begins, in his article “Communities, Networks, and the Building of a Conference Program,” by explaining how the AHA program is developed. Speaking of which, be sure to check out the call for proposals for next year’s 126th annual meeting.

There are a number of articles focused on this year’s 125th Annual Meeting in Boston.  Check out:

News
Also find news on the AHA’s recent collaboration with the Coalition on the Academic Workforce (CAW) to survey the contingent workforce. Plus, Lee White from the National Coalition for History contributes both an article on “Grading the Obama Administration on Access and Secrecy,” as well as his regular “News Briefs” from Washington.

History Profession
Read on for a number of articles on the history profession and teaching history.  Michael Grossberg details historians’ roles as experts for court cases. Robert B. Townsend looks into the question “How Is New Media Reshaping the Work of Historians?” David Harlan continues the “Art of History” series by looking into how historians read. Then, learn about the challenges of teaching U.S. History in China (Russell Duncan), using intergenerational interviews and drama to teach (Jane McDowell and Monica Gorman), and looking into the future for the History of Medicine specialization (Robert Peckham). Noralee Frankel also looks back on the 1970 Rose Report.

Members
Finally, catch up on the recent accomplishments of AHA members and remember some colleagues who have passed on: Robert V. Daniels , Martin Zachary Njeuma, and Peggy Pascoe.

 

Online Member Services

The AHA's transition to a new association management system continues, and continues to be refined and improved. In order to make these improvements, we need, from time to time, to take the member web site off line. We are trying to limit these down periods to 7am - 9:30 am EST to minimize disruption to members. We apologize for this inconvenience. We welcome any and all comments, suggestions, and criticisms about the site and our services to Vernon Horn.

 

Why Midterms Matter

2010 Midterm Elections

In an article for the December 2010 issue of Perspectives on History, Julian Zelizer, professor of history and public affairs at Princeton University, discusses the historical significance of the November 2, 2010, U.S. election.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Calling All Contingent Faculty:
We Want to Know More about You

CAW survey of contingent facultyOn behalf of the Coalition on the Academic Workforce (CAW), the AHA invites all historians and other faculty employed in the contingent academic workforce in U.S. colleges and universities to participate in a survey about course assignments, salaries, benefits, and general working conditions. We invite participation from all instructional and research staff members employed off the tenure track, including faculty members employed either full- or part-time, graduate students remunerated as teaching assistants or employed in other roles, and researchers and postdoctoral fellows.

Please visit the following URL:

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/VNNNRVS

We hope you will fill out the questionnaire today, but if you cannot, please do so by November 30, 2010.  Winners of the gift cards will be notified the following week.

 

 

2011 Annual Meeting

Preregistration
Preregister now for the 125th Annual Meeting in Boston, MA, January 6–9, 2011. Members can preregister by logging in to member services and clicking the link to “Meeting Registration” on the main page Members Services page. The deadline to receive the preregistration rates for the annual meeting is December 22, 2010. After that onsite registration rates apply.

Registration Resource Center
The messaging function is now available in the Registration Resource Center. Log in today to contact others who have registered for the meeting or sign up to receive e-mail or text message alerts when you have a message waiting for you. The Registration Resource Center also provides receipts and links to housing.

Job Center
The deadline for search committees to reserve space at official Job Center interview facilities is today, November 15, 2010. There are some tables and a very limited number of interview rooms still available. Please log on to the Job Center page to find the latest availability information and the reservation forms you’ll need for a successful meeting.   

The Job Center offers:

  • Free tables

  • Rooms that can be reserved for $80 for a half-day or $140 for a full day (prepayment will be required this year)

  • An information center that will help your candidates find your interview location, even if it’s in a privately arranged suite

Questions? Contact Liz Townsend.

More Information
See the AHA’s Annual Meeting web page for more information on hotels, venue locations, registration, exhibit hall details, transportation, and the Job Center. Also, view the Program of the 125th Annual Meeting online.

 

Be a Mentor at the 125th Annual Meeting

Volunteers Needed for the CMH Breakfast

The Committee on Minority Historians (CMH) needs your help. The Committee on Minority Historians has invited minority graduate students and first year faculty to a complimentary continental mentoring breakfast on Friday, January 7, from 7:30 to 9:00 a.m. The CMH needs senior faculty to talk to the graduate students who have signed up for the breakfast held at the Marriot, Vineyard Room. Please join the committee in a discussion of life in the profession. If you are interested in volunteering to be a mentor at this breakfast meeting, please e-mail Noralee Frankel as soon as possible.

 

Session of the Week

We’ve launched a new series on the AHA blog that will run each Monday through the first week in January 2011, highlighting a “session of the week” pulled from the Program of the 125th Annual Meeting. So we’ve featured the following sessions:

  • Wise Use of the Methods Course, AHA Session 4. Papers from Linda Sargent Wood, Laura M. Westhoff, Robert B. Bain, and Tim Keirn, cover topics of problem-based learning, teaching U.S. history in secondary classrooms, disciplinary literacy, and teacher preparation.

  • No Sacred Story: Reframing Abraham Lincoln in Historical Memory, AHA session 265. Leslie J. Lindenauerand Martha E. May look to recent use of Lincoln in “video games, the web, and in film” and how he’s often represented as “one bad ass dude.” Christopher Castiglia’s presentation will delve into Lincoln’s sexuality and what its “significance might be for our understanding of nineteenth-century culture and politics.” David A. Silkenat explores Works Progress Administration (WPA) narratives to investigate “divisions among African Americans about the long legacy of the Civil War and emancipation.” W. Fitzhugh Brundage will chair the session and David W. Blight will conclude the session with his comments.

 

AHA Today

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

 

 

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

  • Pelosi Appoints Dr. Matthew Wasniewski as New House Historian
    On October 20, Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced the appointment of Dr. Matthew Wasniewski as the new Historian of the House of Representatives.

  • National Archives to Put the Founders Papers Online
    The National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC), the grant-making arm of the National Archives, has announced a cooperative agreement with The University of Virginia (UVA) Press to make freely available online the historical documents of the Founders of the United States of America.

  • Veterans Day Marks Efforts to Honor and Preserve Veterans History
    As Veterans Day approaches, programs are underway to promote the preservation of the history of the nation’s veterans and to honor their service to our country. These include the Veterans History Project at the Library of Congress and “Take a Veteran to School Day” sponsored by the History Channel.

National Humanities Alliance

 

Consortium of Social Science Associations

 

 

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

Contributions to this issue of Fortnightly News came from: David Darlington, Debbie Ann Doyle, Kelly Elmore, Elisabeth Grant, James Grossman, Vernon Horn, Pillarisetti Sudhir, Sharon K. Tune, Liz Townsend, and Robert B. Townsend

 

 

 

 

Last Updated: November 12, 2010