Dear AHA Member,
AHA news and updates for the history profession.
In this issue:
- 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.
Making the AHA and the Historical Profession Accessible
By Debbie Ann Doyle
Between 1 and 5 percent of historians identify themselves as disabled in surveys, a figure that likely excludes many more historians who hesitate to disclose a disability for fear of discrimination or who think of themselves as different, not disabled. Census estimates suggest that between 10 and 20 percent of Americans have a disability. Age, illness, or accident can introduce any member of the profession to the frustrations of looking for an elevator in an inadequately retrofitted building or trying to hear a presenter mumbling into their notes. As Linda Kerber observed when the AHA decided to form a Task Force on Disability in 2006, “Those who articulate the needs of the disabled articulate the needs of us all.”
On June 4, the AHA Council accepted the report of the Task Force on Disability, a joint effort with the Disability History Association, an AHA affiliate. The report reflects three years of study and reflection about how to remove barriers to full participation in the Association and the profession.
Read the rest of this article on the AHA’s blog.
Equity Awards
In 1996, the American Historical Association adopted a statement on equity that acknowledges its commitment “to diversity in the historical profession” and called on “institutions to recruit aggressively and hire members from groups that have been historically discriminated against.”
To further this goal, the AHA has established two Equity Awards to be given annually: one for individuals and another for academic units.
The award can be conferred for new initiatives or for sustained efforts. These equity awards are meant to recognize and publicize individuals and institutions that have achieved excellence in recruiting and retaining underrepresented racial and ethnic groups into the historical profession. While the awards are honorary and have no monetary component, winners will receive a certificate of recognition that specially honors their efforts to secure and sustain diversity in the profession.
Individuals or institutions can nominate themselves or be nominated. Please submit nominations by August 1, 2011. For instructions on how to apply, and more information about these awards, see the Equity Awards page on the AHA’s web site.
Note: Learn more about the 2010 Equity Award winners, pictured to the right, in this article from the February 2011 issue of Perspectives on History.
Update Your Directory Entry
Departments and Organizations
Time's running out to ensure your institution’s place in the 2011-12 Directory! Don't miss your chance to be part of the most comprehensive directory of the history profession.
Please log in and review your institution’s Directory listing by July 15, 2011 and let us know if your institution will or will not be listing this year. Updates to Directory entries before August 1, 2011, will be included in the print edition, and changes made throughout the year will appear immediately in the AHA Directory Online.
AHA Today
Keep up with the latest information on history and the profession on the AHA’s blog, AHA Today. Recent posts include:
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Discussions and Community on the AHA’s LinkedIn Page
Members of the AHA’s LinkedIn page are reaching out to each other, seeking advice, and forming a community. Read some highlights from these discussions and take part in one today. -
Do Digital Docs Need Page Numbers?
AHA’s Editor of Perspectives on History, Pillarisetti Sudhir, discusses the challenges of citing digital documents. -
EDSITEment Opens Doors to 13 Online Encyclopedias of U.S. States and Territories
For students seeking information on a U.S. state or territory, EDSITEment’s list of 13 encyclopedias (including Alabama, Arkansas, Connecticut, Georgia, Guam, Louisiana, Maryland, Nevada, Oregon, Puerto Rico, South Carolina, Virginia, and West Virginia) offers a gateway to edited and authoritative information. -
Also, see the most recent What We’re Reading (June 23 and June 30) and Grant of the Week (Bridging Cultures at Community Colleges Program and Catherine Macaulay Prize) 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
Additional Detail Available on Status of FY 2011 Funding for Title VI & Fulbright-Hays Four programs terminated, others severely cut
House Committee Passes “Setting New Priorities in Education Spending Act” H.R. 1891 placed on the Union Calendar for further action
Consortium of Social Science Associations
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June 27, 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: Kelly Elmore, Noralee Frankel, Elisabeth Grant, James Grossman, Vernon Horn, Pillarisetti Sudhir, Liz Townsend, and Robert B. Townsend
Last Updated: July 6, 2011
