Utah Conference on Introductory History Courses

The AHA held the inaugural Utah Conference on Introductory History Courses on Friday, October 6 and Saturday, October 7, 2023, at the South City Campus of Salt Lake Community College (1700 South & State Street). This two-day, statewide conference facilitated conversations among people who teach introductory history courses, whether in high schools, community colleges, or four-year universities.

2023 Utah Conference: Building a Stronger K-16 Bridge

History and social studies educators at all levels share a fundamental interest in helping our students develop knowledge and skills necessary for success in the twenty-first century. The Utah Conference will focus on the theme of“Building a Stronger K-16 Bridge,” bringing together educators across a range of institutions to engage in a robust discussion about the evolving needs of our students.

Topics discussed included:

• What skills and support do today’s students need in order to thrive on college campuses?
• How can we structure courses to improve success across the complex transition between high school and college?
• What can K-12 colleagues tell college faculty about incoming students’ strengths, passions, and concerns? How can post-secondary faculty assist our K–12 colleagues?

Resources

Conference Agenda

History Essential Competencies (PDF)

James Grossman and Anne Hyde, “History at a Crossroads: The AHA Responds to Attacks on Honest History,” Perspectives on History (April 2023).

Brendan Gillis and Julia Brookins, “Maintaining Standards: Recent AHA Contributions to the Fight for Honest History Education,” Perspectives on History (April 2023).

Andrew K. Koch, “Many Thousands Failed: A Wakeup Call to History Educators,” Perspectives on History (May 2017),

Daniel Immerwahr, “History Isn’t Just for Patriots,” Washington Post, December 23, 2020,

Laura Westhoff and Robert Johnston, “Democracy and the Teaching of History in Our Perilous Moment,” Journal of American History, 108, 4 (March 2022).

James Grossman, “Florida Lessons Teach Full Story of Holocaust. They Shouldn’t Make Slavery Seem Benign,” Miami Herald, August 14, 2023.

Johann Neem, “A Usable Past for a Post-American Nation,” The Hedgehog Review.

Raul Ramos, “The 1836 Project is the Wrong Past for Our Future,” Houston Chronicle, May 16, 2021,

National Humanities Alliance, “What Are You Going To Do With That?,” A podcast where we explore everyday folks’ decisions to study the humanities as undergraduates and their pathways to fulfilling careers.

Lindsey Passenger Wieck, ‘Revising Historical Writing Using Generative AI: An Editorial Experiment,” Perspectives On History (August 15, 2023).

Lendol Calder, Robert Williams, “Must History Students Write History Essays?”, Journal of American History, 107, 4 (March 2021): 926–41.

Lendol Calder, “The Stories We Tell,” OAH Magazine of History, 27, 3 (July 2013): 5–8.

AHA Statement on Florida’s African American History Standards (August 2023).

AHA Releases Statement Opposing Exclusion of LGBTQ+ History in Florida (May 2023).

AHA advocacy

Whitney E. Barringer, Lauren Brand, and Nicholas Kryczka, “No Such Thing as a Bad Question? Inquiry-Based Learning in the History Classroom,” Perspectives on History (September 2023).