News & Advocacy

News

The latest activity of the AHA and historians in supporting history and historical thinking.

  • AHA Members File Amicus Brief in Supreme Court Gerrymandering Case

    Oct 16, 2017 - 

    In preparation for the Supreme Court's hearing of Gill v. Whitford, a group of 15 historians, including 11 AHA members, filed a brief of amici curiae that laid out the history of equal representation in early American voting systems and why the Court should strike down Wisconsin's district maps. The historians are joined by numerous other organizations, many of whom agree that Wisconsin's 2010 redistricting plan contains a statistically significant bias towards the party that drew it. A decision on the case is expected by June 2018. 

  • Historians Named as 2017 MacArthur Fellows

    Oct 12, 2017 - 

    The MacArthur Foundation recently announced the 2017 MacArthur Fellows, which includes two historians, Derek Peterson (Univ. of Michigan) and Sunil Amrith (Harvard Univ.). Both scholars have close ties to the AHA: Peterson served on the 2015 annual meeting Program Committee and is an AHA member, and Amrith was awarded the AHA's 2014 John F. Richards Prize for distinguished scholarship on South Asian history. The AHA congratulates them for their achievements!

  • North Carolina Preservation Consortium Statement on Confederate Monuments

    Sep 28, 2017 - 

    In response to protests regarding Confederate monuments on public property, the North Carolina Preservation Consortium issued a statement laying out its recommendations for the "preservation of tangible and intangible heritage." Citing the historical context from which Confederate monuments arose, the NCPC recommends that "all monuments on public property in North Carolina that glorify the Confederacy should be relocated to appropriate museums, historic sites, and other cultural spaces that interpret American history honestly and completely." 

  • AHA Member Speaks at Washington College Inaugural Event

    Sep 26, 2017 - 

    On Saturday, September 23, member Adam Goodheart represented the AHA at Washington College's inauguration of Kurt M. Landgraf as the school's 29th president. Located in Chestertown, Maryland, Washington College is the 10th-oldest college in the United States and was chartered in 1782 with financial support from George Washington. 

  • AHA Member Responds to Controversial Article in Nature Science Journal

    Sep 19, 2017 - 

    Earlier this month, the science journal Nature published an editorial claiming that the New York Central Park statue of gynecologist J. Marion Sims, who conducted medical experiments on enslaved African American women, stands as part of American history and thus shouldn't be removed. In response, several readers, including AHA member Monica Green (Arizona State Univ.), questioned the propriety of celebrating such a controversial figure. As a result of this public debate, the journal issued a follow-up statement admitting that publishing the original article was a mistake and clarifying that the removal of such statues "does not erase these individuals or their acts from history." For those who would like to learn more, the AHA has published a blog post that further explores the controversial history of Sims.

  • Understanding Race after Charlottesville

    Sep 14, 2017 - 

    On Monday, September 18, the AHA, American Anthropological Association, and American Sociology Association will all join together in sharing resources on understanding, discussing, and teaching about race. We will share our materials to the hashtag #UnderstandingRace. We encourage historians to also share any materials they have on the topic. The purpose of this joint endeavor is to promote how our various disciplines can contribute to the conversation sparked by the recent events in Charlottesville and national discourse on Confederate monuments.

  • AHA Member Reflects on Recent Demand for Historical Knowledge

    Sep 07, 2017 - 

    Karen Cox, professor of history at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, wrote an opinion piece on CNN's website about the increased visibility of the historical profession in light of recent political controversies. Cox, like many of her colleagues, wrote articles on the history and symbolism of Confederate statues, and received feedback across the board. What she was most surprised about, however, were the e-mails "that neither lauded nor castigated me for my opinions" but instead were written by those curious about history, and who wanted to learn more. Cox concludes her piece with several suggestions for how historians can make their work more available to those who might not have received a formal education in history. 

  • 2017 AHA President-elect Attends Cornell University Inaugural Event

    Aug 31, 2017 - 

    On August 25, 2017, AHA President-elect Mary Beth Norton represented the AHA at the inauguration of Martha Pollack as the 14th president of Cornell University. The event was attended by several hundred faculty, students, and alumni and focused on the role of universities in the "Search for Truth."

  • Historians Weigh in on the Confederate Monument Debate

    Aug 24, 2017 - 

    In the wake of the recent controversy surrounding last week's events in Charlottesville, historians from across the country have written numerous op-eds in the hopes of providing readers with much-needed context surrounding the history of Confederate monuments. The AHA has compiled an ongoing list of articles written by members, Councilors, and staff. To highlight these important contributions, the AHA is proud to offer a resource page of historians' engagement on these issues.

  • AHA Members Receive NEH Grants for Humanities Projects

    Aug 17, 2017 - 

    The National Endowment for the Humanities announced earlier this month that it will award over $39 million in grants for humanities projects across the country. Among those whose projects were selected were a number of historians, including 21 AHA members. "The recently announced NEH grants are yet more proof of the Endowment's crucial role in supporting access to the humanities for all Americans," said Stephen Kidd, executive director of the National Humanities Alliance. "We are pleased to see that Congressional leaders value the NEH even as the administration has sought to eliminate its funding."

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