General Information

Location of main events: AHA and affiliated societies' sessions will be held in the Marriott Wardman Park, the Omni Shoreham, and the Hilton Washington. The AHA headquarters office will be in the Marriott's Room 8224 and the Local Arrangements Committee/Press office will be in the Marriott's Room 8226. Both offices are on the hotel's lobby level.

Registration: Meeting registration desks will be located in the Marriott's Atrium on the lobby level and will be open Thursday, January 8, 12:00 p.m.–7:00 p.m.; Friday, January 9, 8:00 a.m.–6:00 p.m.; and Saturday, January 10, 8:30 a.m.–4:00 p.m. Member registration will be $90, nonmembers $110, student members and unemployed $50, student nonmembers $60, and precollegiate teachers $25. The registration area will be divided alphabetically into several workstations. Meeting participants can also pay AHA membership dues and purchase AHA publications at the "Membership" and "Publications" desks. Publications can be examined at the Association's booth 38, located in the Marriott's Exhibit Hall A. Individuals who have preregistered should go to preregistration booths in the Atrium to collect badges and other meeting material. Book exhibitors should go to desks marked "Exhibitors" to collect badges.

Refund Policy: Advance registrants who are unable to attend the convention may request a refund of their registration fee. A written request must be postmarked by December 19, 2003, and should include a copy of the preregistration form that was submitted. Proof of payment—copies of front and back of cancelled check or copy of credit card statement—may also be required. All refunds are subject to a $10 processing fee. No refunds will be issued for requests postmarked after December 19, 2003.

Book Exhibit: The exhibits will be located in the Marriott's Exhibit Hall A on the exhibit hall level and will be open Thursday, January 8, 3:00 p.m.–7:00 p.m.; Friday, January 9, 9:00 a.m.–6:00 p.m.; Saturday, January 10, 9:00 a.m.–6:00 p.m.; and Sunday, January 11, 9:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m.

Job Register: The Job Register, located in the Marriott's Exhibit Hall B North, will be open Thursday, January 8, 12:30 p.m.–6:00 p.m.; Friday, January 9, 9:00 a.m.–6:00 p.m.; Saturday, January 10, 9:00 a.m.–6:00 p.m.; and Sunday, January 11, 9:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m. Admission to AHA sessions, exhibits, and the Job Register requires an AHA badge.

Messaging System and Internet Access

The AHA will employ an electronic two-way messaging system to allow everyone registered for the annual meeting to communicate electronically with each other. The system will offer easy-to-use terminals located in the Marriott's Marriott Ballroom Salon 3. The system replaces the traditional locator file and the various inconspicuous hard-to-use message boards. It will be the designated form of communication for those using the Job Register. Interviewers and interviewees can schedule and confirm interviews. AHA staff answering the phones at the meeting will be able to take messages for attendees and post them directly into the system.

The system will use large monitors to display the names of persons with messages waiting for them. Persons with messages waiting will be able to use any available terminal to log in using a password that will be printed on their badges. Each terminal will have all the simple instructions necessary to receive or send messages to other registered conference attendees. There will also be a few Internet terminals available for checking regular e-mail accounts.

Persons who use the "Telnet" protocol to reach their university's servers are advised that some universities employ firewalls that prevent access from outside the university system. If you wish to be able to check your e-mail and avoid this problem, you may consider having your e-mail forwarded to one of the commonly available free e-mail services (such as Yahoo or Excite) that are accessible via a web browser.

Meal Ticket Cashier

Tickets for meal events—except those sponsored by organizations that sell their own tickets—will be available from the meal ticket cashiers at the "Meal Ticket Cashier" desk in the Marriott's Atrium. All payments must be made in U.S. currency, by cash or traveler's check. Meal ticket cashiers will have a list of all luncheons and the CWH breakfast, and whether the sponsoring organizations will have tickets available for sale at the annual meeting.

A limited number of tickets for the annual Breakfast Meeting of the AHA Committee on Women Historians will be available through the cashiers on a first come, first served basis. These tickets will be $27. Breakfast tickets prepaid through the meeting preregistration form should also be picked up at the meal ticket cashier's window prior to the event Saturday morning.

Schedule of Luncheon Meetings

Nine luncheons will be held during the annual meeting, four on Friday, January 9, and five on Saturday, January 10.

Friday, January 9

American Society of Church History
Conference on Asian History
Conference on Latin American History
Organization of History Teachers

Saturday, January 10

Advanced Placement History
American Catholic Historical Association
AHA Modern European History Section
Coordinating Council for Women in History
Society for Historians of American Foreign Relations

Affiliated Society Display

An area on the Marriott's Lobby Level near Harry's Pub has been reserved from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. on Friday, January 9, for affiliated societies to display materials and to meet with members of the profession.

—Sharon K. Tune is the AHA's convention director