This page lists active working groups in the AHA Community Action and Resource Exchange (CARE) program. CARE is composed of working groups, listed below, organized to discuss and share ideas, resources, and guidance to issues or concerns of professional interest to historians. They convene on a regular basis to discuss and study their issues, establish and pursue explicit goals using platforms and support provided by the AHA, and share their insights with the broader historical discipline.
Decompartmentalizing History: Building Bridges Between K-12 Teachers and Higher Education Faculty
Decompartmentalizing History (DECOMPHIST) explores existing connections between academic historians and secondary educators and, centering the voices and expertise of K-12 teachers, considers where and how the historical discipline might build additional bridges between the two. Building on previous AHA initiatives, this group aims to bring academics and educators into conversation to discuss specific topics, exchange teaching ideas, and develop instructional materials that can be used in both K–12 and higher-education settings. Ideas participants may consider include, but are not limited to, collaborating on coauthored publications and, over time, creating opportunities for academics to deliver talks directly to K–12 students. We welcome any parties with interest and knowledge in this topic, and especially encourage K-12 teacher participation.
Members
Emmanuel Destenay (facilitator)
David H. Slavin
Max Monegan
Julien Herpers
Stephen Jackson
Anne Evans
Amy Powers
Nicole Johnston
Neal T. Dugre
Kelly Jones
Mindy Lawrence
Phillip Payne
Daniel J. McInerney
Matt Dobbs
Group status: to express interest in joining this group, please email Emmanuel Destenay at emmanuel.destenay@wanadoo.fr.
Neurodivergence and the Historical Profession
This group examines neurodivergence as a dimension of diversity within the historical profession and as a lens for rethinking historical research, teaching, and professional practice. Although the American Historical Association and related organizations have made important strides in disability inclusion, the discipline has not yet developed a sustained forum focused specifically on neurodivergent historians and the implications of cognitive diversity for historical scholarship.
The group brings together historians in the AHA interested in neurodiversity history, disability history, inclusive pedagogy, and the professional structures that shape graduate training, hiring, and evaluation. It collaborates with professional groups and organizations with common interests. Over two years, participants will map current scholarship, identify structural barriers facing neurodivergent historians, and develop practical resources for the profession. These may include guidance for graduate programs, teaching strategies designed for neurodivergent-forward classrooms, and public conversations about how cognitive diversity can expand historical inquiry.
Members
Sterling Fluharty (facilitator)
Elizabeth Maher (facilitator)
Group status: active and seeking new members.
Reimagining High School History: Conceptual Course Models
This group brings together high school teachers, professors, and historians to explore conceptual approaches to required history courses. The goal is to move beyond the traditional model of a specific number of years of world and U.S. history, and instead analyze how full-year courses can be organized around central ideas, such as Democracy, Power and Resistance, or Global Interconnection. We aim to develop frameworks that integrate historical thinking, civic literacy, and digital citizenship, producing adaptable, concept-driven models that departments can pilot to modernize high school history education and engage students more deeply.
Members
Nicole Johnston (facilitator)
Group status: active and seeking new members. To express interest in joining this group, please email Nicole Johnston at nicole.johnston@oakknoll.org.