The AHA announces "Don't Panic! The Futures of History from the Liberal Arts College Perspective," a series of three online events in January 2021 part of AHA Colloquium. Liberal arts history is similar to but distinct from history as taught at other institutions, and involves a high level of experimentation in pedagogy and curriculum -- experience that is at a premium during higher education's innovation across the COVID-19 moment. This series is intended to build community among historians at liberal arts colleges, get a sense of shared interests and concerns, and discuss what kind of future structures could best support and encourage a diverse, dynamic, and forward-looking liberal arts history professoriate and student body.

We welcome colleagues at all career stages and from any institutional context to sign up for these events, though preference will be given to faculty at liberal arts colleges and to participants able to register for more than one event.

January 20, 2021 at 2:00 p.m. EST - Workshop: "The Futures of History from the Liberal Arts College Perspective" with Joshua Birk (Smith College), Edward Cohn (Grinnell College, chair), Jenny Huangfu Day (Skidmore College), Anthony Donaldson Jr. (Sewanee College), Leslie Offutt (Vassar College), and Tomás Summers-Sandoval (Pomona College), Ernesto Capello (Macalester College), and Jordana Dym (Skidmore College) 

This session will be a workshop in which participants join "lightning round" small group discussions (8-10 people each) of themes related to the practice of history at liberal arts colleges, possibly including the decolonization of the curriculum and efforts to appeal to a diverse student audience, the globalization of the field, the teaching of introductory and gateway courses, student research, and emergency pedagogy. Participants will have the chance to suggest themes for discussion during pre-registration. This workshop will run for approximately 90 minutes. Register here.

January 21, 2021 at 2:00 p.m. EST - Roundtable: "The Futures of History from the Liberal Arts College Perspective" with Ernesto Capello (Macalester College, chair), Edward Cohn (Grinnell College), Jordana Dym and Quinn Campbell '21 (Skidmore College), Jakub Kabala (Davidson College), and Tamika Nunley (Oberlin College)

At this session, four teacher-scholar presenters from liberal arts colleges will start the conversation with case studies and questions based on their experiences with innovative and creative approaches to the teaching of history, with likely themes including the decolonization of the curriculum, digital history, the rise of courses based on big ideas and questions (rather than traditional surveys), and new approaches to student research. We will then open the discussion up to the audience for a larger conversation about the current state and future prospects for the study of history at liberal arts colleges. This roundtable will run for approximately 75 minutes. Register here.

January 22, 2021 at 2:00 p.m. EST Social Hour: "The Futures of History from the Liberal Arts College Perspective" with Ernesto Capello (Macalester College), Edward Cohn (Grinnell College), Jordana Dym (Skidmore College), and Leslie Offutt (Vassar College)

This session, an informal online social gathering, will give participants the chance to meet colleagues from other liberal arts colleges, to discuss ideas and themes from the previous sessions, and to make plans for further programming related to history at liberal arts institutions. We hope that this session will be the launching point for further programming at the AHA and beyond on both the challenges and the opportunities facing liberal arts college history departments. This social hour will run for approximately 75 minutes. Register here.