Dear AHA Member,
AHA news and updates for the history profession.
In this issue:
- Deadline Tomorrow: Proposals for 126th Annual Meeting
- 125th Annual Meeting Survey for Attendees
- 2013 Program Committee Nominations
- AHA Today – Recent history news
- News from Washington – Updates from NCH, NHA, and COSSA
Please feel free to forward this e-mail to your friends and colleagues.
Proposals for 126th Annual Meeting
The deadline to submit proposals for the AHA’s 126th Annual Meeting (January 5–8, 2012 in Chicago) is tomorrow: February 15, 2011.
The Program Committee welcomes proposals from all members of the Association (academic and nonacademic), from affiliated societies, from historians working outside the United States, and from scholars in related disciplines. The theme for the meeting is “Communities and Networks.” The Program Committee is also interested in proposals that examine new forms of digital research, publication, and teaching.
For more information, see the Call for Proposals. Proposals must be submitted online; detailed instructions are available on the AHA web site. Again, the deadline to submit proposals is February 15, 2011.
125th Annual Meeting Survey
If you attended the most recent Annual Meeting in Boston, please take a moment to fill out our quick survey.
Please note: this survey is only for those who attended the meeting. A survey open to the entire membership, on improvements for future meetings, will be sent out in the coming months.
Seeking Nominations for the 2013 Program Committee
The AHA Research Division invites anyone interested in serving on the ProgramCommittee for the 2013 annual meeting to submit their names for consideration. Themeeting will be held in New Orleans.
The program for the meeting is shaped by the 13 members of the program committee who solicit panels from colleagues in their fields, and review submissions from the general membership. The committee is expected to represent the broad diversity of the discipline and membership of the AHA, representing the many different subfields and institutions that seek a place on the program. Therefore, the committee needs members who are active and engaged members of the discipline, from the many and diverse types of institutions in which historians work, who are willing to engage and work with colleagues in other areas of specialization.
To offer your name in nomination, please send your c.v. and a cover note expressing your interest in the position to Robert B. Townsend, assistant director for research. The chair and co-chair will consider your nomination when preparing the final slate of members in the spring.
OAH Seeks New Treasurer
Applications and nominations are now welcome for the office of Treasurer of the Organization of American Historians (OAH). The late Robert Griffith, who served admirably in the post, was forced by illness to resign effective January 1, 2011. Jay Goodgold is now serving as Interim Treasurer until a new Treasurer can be found. OAH President David Hollinger has appointed a sub-committee of the Executive Board to review all candidates and to offer a recommendation to the Board.
Ideally, candidates would have a strong record of administrative service and demonstrated ability to handle complex budgets. The OAH Constitution and Bylaws specify a five-year term, and declare that "The Treasurer shall supervise the disbursements of all funds, shall report to the membership annually on the financial status of the Organization." With the help of the OAH staff, the Treasurer also prepares a proposed budget each spring for submission to the Finance Committee, serves as a member of the Finance Committee, and is a financial adviser and consultant to the Organization.
The Treasurer is an unpaid officer of the Organization and is a voting member of the Executive Board. OAH members are invited to apply or to nominate other OAH members. Send letters of interest or nomination, along with a c.v. or resume to Executive Director Katherine Finley at OAH, 112 North Bryan Street, Bloomington IN 47408 or kmfinley@oah.org. The search will continue until the position is filled, but the Executive Board hopes that suitable candidates can be identified before April 1, 2011.
National Humanities Alliance Action Alert
Action Alert
here to reach these officials by sending a brief, customizable electronic message from the Alliance's online action center.
More Info
President Obama has announced that he will release the FY 2012 budget proposal the week of February 14th, with significant reductions expected for many agencies and programs to meet the Administration's deficit-reduction goals. In Congress, leaders of the House Republican Study Committee and Senate Steering Committee have introduced legislation calling for the elimination of the National Endowment for the Humanities (among other programs), in order to reduce discretionary spending by more than $2.5 billion over the next ten years. Meanwhile, the House is expected to vote soon on a measure that would roll-back non-security funding in the current year (FY 2011) to 2008 budget levels.
See this recent blog post for more information.
Policy Debates: What do Historians have to offer?
Posted earlier this month in a post on the AHA blog: “Policy Debates: What do Historians have to offer?”
“The public work of historians” was the focus of the plenary session at our recent annual meeting. Some of us argue that such work can, and ought to, include participation in public culture and in policy discourse. As historians, we have a particular angle of vision, as well as expertise relating to how almost any contemporary issue fits into a broader arc of change over time. Are we doing enough? Can we do more? Two of our colleagues have spoken out recently in the Chronicle of Higher Education (here and here). The debate should take place here. Let us know what you think here on the AHA blog or on Facebook.
AHA Today
Keep up with the latest information on history and the profession on the AHA’s blog, AHA Today. Recent posts include:
Top AHA Today Blog Posts of 2010
We looked back at our traffic statistics from 2010 to find some of the most popular blog posts.Graduate and Early Career Committee: Current and Future Work
A message from Aaron Marrs, chairperson of the AHA’s Graduate and Early Career Committee (GECC).AHA Video from the 125th Annual Meeting
While at the 125th Annual Meeting in Boston, AHA staff recorded video of the General Meeting (including the presidential address and prize presentation) and a few sessions.Photos on Facebook from the 125th Annual Meeting
Check out photos from the 125th Annual Meeting, now posted on the AHA’s Facebook page. You’ll find images of 2010 AHA award winners, session participants and attendees, glimpses of the exhibit hall, and shots capturing participants all around the meeting. Recognize yourself or a friend? Feel free to tag them!-
Also, see the most recent What We’re Reading (February 3 and February 10) and Grant of the Week (Western Archives Institute Scholarship and Swann Foundation Fellowship for Caricature and Cartoon Research) posts.
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
National Humanities Alliance
Humanities Action Alert Urge Congress to Support NEH Funding
Republican Study Committee Leaders Unveil Spending Reduction Act of 2011 Bill targets NEH, other discretionary programs
Consortium of Social Science Associations
February 7, 2011 Washington Update
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, and Robert B. Townsend
Last Updated: February 11, 2011
