Award for Scholarly Distinction
In 1984 the AHA Council established the American Historical Association Award for Scholarly Distinction to honor senior historians in the United States. Previous awards have gone to 77 eminent scholars.
AHA members are now invited to submit nominations. According to the selection criteria, recipients must be senior historians of the highest distinction who have spent the bulk of their professional careers in the United States. Generally, they must also be of emeritus rank, if from academic life, or equivalent standing otherwise. Under normal circumstances the award is not intended to go to former presidents of the Association; rather, the intent is to honor persons not otherwise recognized by the profession to an extent commensurate with their contributions.
The Committee on Honorary Foreign Members and Awards for Scholarly Distinction will serve as the jury and will recommend up to three individuals for approval at the Council's spring meeting. The Committee consists of the president, president-elect, and the immediate past president. The honoree(s) will be announced at the Association’s annual meeting.
The annual deadline for receiving nominations is April 1.
A complete nomination should include (1) a letter of nomination that contains specific details addressing the criteria listed above and (2) a two- to three-page CV of the nominee with a summary of major publications and career highlights. Additional letters of support can also be submitted, provided the entire package does not exceed 10 pages in length. Nomination materials should be sent electronically to awards@historians.org, and include "Award for Scholarly Distinction: [Nominee's Name]" in the subject line.
2018 Awards for Scholarly Distinction
Martin E. Jay, University of California, Berkeley
Martin Jay, Sidney Hellman Ehrman Professor of History emeritus at the University of California, Berkeley, has, in the course of his long career, transformed the study of French and German intellectual history and critical theory. His work is known to historians around the globe, and his scholarship from the 1970s onward is still widely read for its extraordinary erudition, its methodological innovativeness, and its clarity of exposition.
Charles S. Maier, Harvard University
Throughout his career, Charles S. Maier, Leverett Saltonstall Professor of History at Harvard University, has blazed trails in European and global history through works of ambition and erudition. His books, articles, chapters, and edited or co-edited volumes (more than 100 in all) have tackled comparative political economy, modern states, empires, collective memory, and contemporary history.
Nell Irvin Painter, Princeton University
At each juncture of Nell Irvin Painter’s career, she has written disruptive books with lasting legacies. She pioneered methods to recover black lives and built on that work to reinterpret historical subfields. Painter’s virtuosity and her lasting impact on many fields is an extraordinary legacy. She has remained active in a broad range of professional associations. Her meticulous research and eloquent writing are models for historical works. Her curiosity exemplifies the excitement of discovery that is at the heart of our profession.