Fortnightly News - March 5, 2012
AHA news and updates for the history profession.
- AHA Today – Recent history news
- National History Center
- News from Washington–NCH, NHA, and COSSA
Apply to be a Part of the History Tuning Project
In last month's Fortnightly News we announced that the AHA is initiating a History Tuning Project, supported by a grant from Lumina Foundation, to define what a student should understand and be able to do at the completion of a history degree program. The announcement received a great response and was featured in articles at Inside Higher Ed and the Chronicle.
Many history professionals contacted us to express their desire to be involved, and today we have information on how to do so.
The AHA seeks an enthusiastic group of 60 history faculty who represent institutions of diverse types in terms of size, source of funding (public/private), populations served, curricular emphases, location, and degrees offered to be a part of the History Tuning Project. Interested faculty members should fill out this application by March 16, 2012.
AHA Member Spotlight: Joseph F. Patrouch
AHA members are involved in all fields of history, with wide-ranging specializations, interests, and areas of employment. To recognize our talented and eclectic membership, AHA Today has begun a new regular “AHA Member Spotlight” series.
Meet Joseph F. Patrouch, a professor of history and classics at the University of Alberta and director of the Wirth Institute for Austrian and Central European Studies and an AHA member since 1989. Learn about his fields of interest, what he's reading, and his best AHA annual meeting anecdote here.
Members featured in the first few posts of this series were randomly selected and contacted by AHA staff, but future posts will be based on nominations. Would you like to nominate a colleague for the AHA Member Spotlight? Contact Nike Nivar for more information.
Fellowships: Jameson and NASA
Two fellowship deadlines are just weeks away. Send in applications for the J. Franklin Jameson Fellowship in American History by March 15, 2012 and the Fellowship in Aerospace History by April 1, 2012.
The J. Franklin Jameson Fellowship in American History is sponsored jointly by the AHA and the Library of Congress. It is awarded annually to support significant scholarly research for one semester in the collections of the Library of Congress by scholars at an early stage in their careers in history. Ph.D. degree or equivalent required.
The Fellowship in Aerospace History, supported by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), annually funds one or more research projects for six months to one year. Proposals of advanced research in history related to all aspects of aerospace, from the earliest human interest in flight to the present, are eligible, including cultural and intellectual history, economic history, history of law and public policy, and history of science, engineering, and management.
Perspectives on History — March 2012
The March 2012 issue of Perspectives online is now available. Some articles are gated, but can be accessed by AHA members after logging in to AHA online services.
From the President & Executive Director
AHA President William Cronon begins the March 2012 issue with his article “Professional Boredom,” which tackles what it means to be a "professional historian" and advocates for engaging writing that "makes the past come alive."
AHA Executive Director James Grossman’s article in this month’s issue takes a look at “Big Data,” how historians can interpret and conceptualize it, and what it might mean for the history job market.
More
Continue through the March issue for data on new history PhDs, a statement from the AHA Council on assessing productivity, teaching across borders and by integrating gender and political history, a study of the WWII movie Come and See, and much more.
Anthony Grafton Presidential Address — Now Online
You can now read the full text of Anthony Grafton’s presidential address, "The Republic of Letters in the American Colonies: Francis Daniel Pastorius Makes a Notebook," in the February 2012 issue of the American Historical Review.
For access to the full text login to member services and click the link to “American Historical Review at JSTOR” in the right column on the page. Video of the address is also available online.
Choice Essentials
In tandem with the complimentary access AHA members now receive to Choice Reviews Online, we will be highlighting a few of these reviews here in Fortnightly News each month. Log in to member services and click the link for "Choice Reviews Online" to read the full versions of these reviews. If you've set up a profile on the Choice website, go to the "My Profile" section to access these reviews.
Ireland, Sweden and the Great European Migration, 1815-1914 (McGill-Queen's, 2011)
By Donald Harman Akenson
This work represents another ambitious project by Akenson (Queen's Univ., Canada), whose long record of scholarship in Irish history has been marked by conceptual daring and controversial assertions. This well-sustained comparison between Ireland and Sweden continues in that provocative spirit, crossing academic divides as well as geographic boundaries. ...a remarkable text that weaves statistical analysis with incisive historiographical commentary to produce a lively argument.
The Lost Children: Reconstructing Europe's Families after World War II (Harvard, 2011)
By Tara Zahra
Zahra's book contributes significantly to understanding postwar childhood and refugee history in central Europe. The book's merit lies not only in portraying the very real welfare issues regarding thousands of stateless, expelled, and otherwise lost children in this region, but also in showing how those issues became vectors for other early postwar issues. ...Scholars and students of postwar Europe more generally will appreciate the extra depth she brings to an understanding of humanitarian issues in these years.
The Trial of the Haymarket Anarchists: Terrorism and Justice in the Gilded Age (Palgrave Macmillan, 2011)
By Timothy Messer-Kruse
Messer-Kruse (Bowling Green State Univ.) challenges the historiography surrounding the Haymarket Square bombing and the ensuing trial of eight anarchists by alleging that these Chicago radicals "were part of an international terrorist network and did hatch a conspiracy to attack police with bombs and guns that May Day weekend." ...Clearly written and impressively researched, this text will spark conversation among historians and those interested in US labor history.
Jobs — Most Recent
In the past 30 days we've received over 36 job openings. Here are just a few of the most recently posted Job Ads from the AHA's website. Sign in to the AHA web site to access the links below for more information about these and other positions. And if you are at a department or organization seeking to hire a candidate in the history field, we hope you will consider advertising your position with us.
African American History - DePaul University
DePaul University is accepting applications for a tenure-track assistant or associate professor in African American history, all subfields and periods welcome.Ancient Mediterranean History - Whitman College
Whitman College in Walla Walla, Washington is hiring for a visiting position in ancient Mediterranean history, with expertise in the history of the ancient Mediterranean world, at the rank of assistant professor.Bibliographer/History and Sociology - University of Chicago Library
The University of Chicago Library seeks an experienced individual with both a deep understanding of the field of history as well as interest in and knowledge of current and future trends in research, excited to develop and expand rich collections and outreach efforts in support of faculty and students.
Again, sign in to the AHA web site or more information about these and other positions.
See the AHA Calendar for more upcoming meetings and seminars, research, awards and fellowships, and upcoming exhibitions. Have a call for proposals, event, or award listing you'd like to submit? Simply send it in through our online form.
Nominations: 2012 U.S. Professors of the Year Awards
The Council for Advancement and Support of Education and the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching are now accepting nominations for the 2012 U.S. Professors of the Year awards. Submit a nomination by April 16, 2012.Call for Papers: Spaces of (Dis)location
The College of Arts, University of Glasgow, welcomes submissions of abstracts for papers for a a two-day multidisciplinary graduate conference taking place on May 24 and 25, 2012 on "Spaces of (Dis)location." Learn more.
Keep up with the latest information on history and the profession on the AHA's blog, AHA Today. Recent posts include:
Celebrating Presidents’ Day
For Presidents’ Day this year we looked back at past president-related posts on presidential debates, presidential libraries, “Top 10 Mistakes by U.S. Presidents,” and more featured on AHA Today.Fulbright-Hays: 2012 Group Projects Abroad Program
The Fulbright-Hays Group Projects Abroad Program for 2012, part of the larger Fulbright-Hays Programs, is accepting applications until April 23, 2012.What We’re Reading
In the latest What We’re Reading posts (February 23 and March 1) find links to articles on the groundbreaking for the National Museum of African American History and Culture, the 50th anniversary of American space flight, an effort to make U.S. monuments more representative, and more.Grant of the Week
Learn more about the new Scholarships and Seminars for Graduate Students and Schlesinger Library Research Support Grants.
Washington History Seminar Examines the Role of the French
With Richard Kuisel’s March 12 presentation, “Unmitigated Gaul: The French Confront America, 1980-2000,” the Washington History Seminar continues a new theme for the spring semester: the historical role of France and the French in a globalizing world. Kuisel teaches contemporary European history at Georgetown University.
Descriptions and links to webcasts of previous sessions on the French are available on the History Center’s website. Julia Clancy-Smith began the series on February 6 with “Barbary Coasts: North Africa, Colonialism, and the Mediterranean, c. 1820-2011.” Sherrill Brown Wells added “Jean Monnet and the Future of Europe” on February 27.
Future sessions that will touch upon the French include Samuel R. Williamson, Jr. on March 19, “July 1914, Revised and Revisited”; Dane Kennedy on April 2, “Reassessing Exploration: The West in the World”; and Margaret Macmillan on April 16, “Enduring Lessons of the First World War.”
The seminar, cosponsored by the National History Center and the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, meets at the Wilson Center each Monday at 4 p.m. during the academic year.
The AHA 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. Their most recent reports include:
National Coalition for History
Recent news from the National Coalition for History:
-
House Panel Passes Two K-12 Education Reform Bills
On February 28, the House Committee on Education and the Workforce approved two pieces of legislation to rewrite the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA). Archivist of the U.S. Names New Director of Presidential Libraries Office Archivist of the United States David S. Ferriero recently announced the appointment of Susan K. Donius as the Director of the Office of Presidential Libraries, effective February 26, 2012.
National Humanities Alliance
Announcements from the National Humanities Alliance:
President Obama Proposes Increase in Funding for NEH FY 2013 budget includes $8.2 million increase over FY 2012
-
National Task Force on Civic Learning and Democratic Engagement Releases New Report A Crucible Moment: College Learning and Democracy's Future provides recommendations
Consortium of Social Science Associations
Read COSSA's most recent Washington Update for news on spending bills, Senate hearings, education and more.
Please feel free to forward this email on to a colleague or friend.
Last Updated: March 2, 2012
