As part of its 2025 annual meeting in New York City, the AHA will convene a cohort of 25 educators working in a range of different institutions focused around the theme of “Resilience in the History Classroom.” This program provides a structured experience to help educators navigate the largest annual history conference in the world and delve into the potential implications of new research for the history classroom.
Our goal will be to use the AHA Annual Meeting to create opportunities for teachers across different kinds of institutions—secondary schools, colleges, universities, and museums—to engage, learn from, and collaborate with a growing community of practice focused on adding depth and nuance to the histories we share in the classroom. The content cohort program will include focused discussions in a small group setting, opportunities to interact with leading historians, and a welcoming new way to experience and enjoy a major history conference.
Program Description
Both scholars and educators are weighing the strengths and limitations of resilience as a conceptual framework through which to understand historical struggles in the United States and across the globe. Teaching honest history demands engagement with examples of strength, perseverance, and creativity in the face of harrowing adversity. Stories of human resilience in the past are even more urgent as many communities grapple with contemporary pressures that stand in the way of student learning. Yet, as critics have noted, narratives of resilience often valorize individuals and communities without interrogating the political, social, and economic causes driving the adversity against which they struggle.
Themes and topics to be considered include: immigration, civil rights movements, political pressures facing teachers across the country, and the experiences of both Native American and LGBTQ+ communities.
Applications to join the content cohort are open to educators who work in secondary, post-secondary, or public history contexts. We welcome the participation of middle and high school teachers and curriculum specialists; faculty at two- and four-year colleges; and museum educators or others engaged in educational programs for the public. Preference will be given to early career classroom educators, and at least 15 spots will be reserved for middle and high school teachers.
All participants in the Content Cohort must register to attend the annual meeting. Anyone may register to attend the annual meeting, whether or not they are accepted for the Content Cohort.