AHA Executive Director Featured in Washington Post Article on Presidential Records Act (January 2023)

AHA executive director James Grossman was featured in a Washington Post article by Toluse Olorunnipa about the challenges of the Presidential Records Act. “Materials generated from the work of the president belong to the American people—that’s pretty straightforward. The complicated part is enforcement,” Grossman said. “It’s not uncommon for mistakes to be made. . . . The issue is really what happens when someone realizes a mistake was made.”

AHA Executive Director and AHA Member Publish Inside Higher Ed Article on Threats to the Integrity of History Education (January 2023)

AHA executive director James Grossman and AHA member Jeremy C. Young (PEN America) published an article in Inside Higher Ed about how recent legislation seeking to restrict K–12 history education also affects colleges and universities. “If higher education leaders and faculty hope to maintain the independence and educational quality of their institutions and to protect the democracy such institutions serve, they cannot afford to keep silent about legislation that censors their colleagues in K–12,” they write.

AHA Executive Director Quoted in Washington Post Article about Interpretation of January 6 Attacks on US Capitol Tours (January 2023)

AHA executive director James Grossman was quoted in a Washington Post article by Joe Heim about US Capitol tour guides being instructed to talk about the January 6, 2021, attacks on the Capitol building by supporters of former President Trump only if asked by visitors. Grossman described the issue of presenting facts about January 6 as “a real dilemma for the civil servants trying to do their job. No matter what they say about January 6, they are going to get in trouble because people will disagree with them. . . . One casualty of this polarization we’re facing is our inability as communities and individuals to accept straightforward facts based on clear evidence. If we cannot agree on basic facts, we cannot constructively discuss any aspect of our history or what we learn from it.”

AHA Executive Director Quoted in News Article about Pelosi Portrait Unveiling (December 2022)

AHA executive director James Grossman was quoted in an article from WSAZ News about the unveiling of a portrait honoring Nancy Pelosi as the first female Speaker of the House. “The longer we look back on what Nancy Pelosi accomplished, the more impressed will be that she was able to accomplish as much as she was given the context,” Grossman said.

AHA’s Mapping Project Featured in Education Week Article (December 2022)

Mapping the Landscape of Secondary US History Education, the AHA’s project to document and analyze what, exactly, is being taught in secondary history classrooms throughout the United States, was featured in an Education Week article by Sarah Schwartz. Speaking with AHA executive director Jim Grossman and research coordinator Nick Kryczka, the article discusses the methods and goals of the Mapping project, and what sets it apart from other similar initiatives.

AHA’s Letter on Virginia Social Studies Learning Standards Draft Featured in Media Coverage (December 2022)

In October, the AHA sent a letter to the Virginia Board of Education (VBOE) commending the draft standards that the VBOE considered at its August meeting. In November, the AHA encouraged testimony before the VBOE when the board considered selecting a set of draft Standards of Learning that had been substantially altered. The AHA’s work on these issues has been featured in several media outlets, including DCist, Newsweek, and Virginia Public Media. AHA executive director James Grossman has appeared in the Richmond Times-Dispatch, The Root, and Yahoo! News discussing the learning standards. “You can argue that the central concepts in American history are freedom or liberty, or democracy, but you cannot teach American history without helping students to understand that racism has been a central theme. You just can’t,” Grossman said.

AHA Special Projects Coordinator Featured on Talking Texas History Podcast (November 2022)

AHA special projects coordinator Julia Brookins was featured on an episode of the Talking Texas History podcast, hosted by Scott Sosebee and Gene Preuss. In the episode, “Talking Teaching with the AHA,” Brookins discussed the AHA's initiatives on teaching undergraduate history, declining enrollment, dual-credit courses, and the Texas State Board of Education’s recent efforts to revise the K–12 social studies standards.

AHA and OAH Amicus Curiae Brief for Brackeen v. Haaland Featured in New York Times (November 2022)

An amicus curaie brief co-sponsored by the AHA and the Organization of American Historians has been featured in a New York Times article on Haaland v. Brackeen by Jan Hoffman. The brief, based on decades of study and research by professional historians, aims to provide an accurate historical perspective as the court deliberates the constitutionality of the Indian Child Welfare Act.

AHR Article Receives Awards from Mediterranean Seminar and Society for the Study of Early Modern Women and Gender (November 2022)

Tamar Herzig’s (Tel Aviv Univ.) article, “Slavery and Interethnic Sexual Violence: A Multiple Perpetrator Rape in Seventeenth-Century Livorno,” published in the March 2022 issue of the American Historical Review, has been awarded the 2022 Award for Best Article by the Society for the Study of Early Modern Women and Gender. The article was also named the Article of the Month in July 2022 by the Mediterranean Seminar.

AHA Executive Director Featured in Education Week Article on Teaching Inclusive History (November 2022)

AHA executive director James Grossman was featured in an Education Week article by Ileana Najarro about the challenges that educators, especially K–12 social studies teachers, are currently facing when it comes to teaching inclusive US history, largely due to an influx in state-level legislation restricting what and how they can teach. “The crucial thing about a history class is that the emphasis is on context. And so what you’re helping students to do is to understand that every concept, every event, or every process, cannot be understood outside of a context,” said Grossman. “You’re not going to heal any sickness you have, unless you understand its existence and its history. And that includes the disease of racism and power relations in the United States.”

AHA Executive Director Quoted in AP News Article on Nomination of Shogan as Archivist of the United States (October 2022)

AHA executive director Jim Grossman was quoted an in AP News article by Farnoush Amiri on Colleen Shogan’s nomination asarchivist of the United States and the recent increased attention to the National Archives following the Trump administration’s alleged mishandling of federal documents. “The Archives do not have enough money to do their work. And I have to assume that is because Congress does not fully understand what its job is,” Grossman said. “Perhaps the visibility of these confirmation hearings and the recent attention will help more Americans appreciate the role.”

AHA Executive Director Quoted in Inside Higher Ed Article on PhD Debt and Job Placements (October 2022)

AHA executive director Jim Grossman was quoted in an Inside Higher Ed article by Colleen Flaherty about a new analysis of federal Survey of Earned Doctorates data by the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. The “continuing decline in tenurable positions available to history PhD recipients remains a deep concern of the AHA, and we have devoted considerable energy and resources to thinking about not only additional career paths but also how to rethink graduate education to prepare our students for a wider variety of rewarding careers,” Grossman said.

AHA Executive Director and AHA Letter to South Dakota Board of Education Featured in Media Outlets (October 2022)

The AHA’s letter to the South Dakota Board of Education Standards opposing the social studies standards revisions process undertaken in 2022 was featured in articles from South Dakota news outlets KELOLAND and DRGNews (via the Associated Press). In an interview with KELOLAND, AHA executive director Jim Grossman explained how the AHA became involved. “History teachers in South Dakota contacted us and said we have this problem, could you be helpful? Could you write a letter that explains why this new proposal is not in the interest of students, in the interest of people in South Dakota.”

AHA Executive Director Quoted in USA Today Article on Presidential Records Act (September 2022)

AHA executive director Jim Grossman was quoted in a USA Today article by Maureen Groppe and Nick Penzenstadler about potential changes to strengthen the Presidential Records Act after the Trump administration’s reported mishandling of federally owned documents. “During Watergate, we learned why it was important for records to belong to the American people,” Grossman said. “As long as there was a notion that those tapes and other records belonged to Richard Nixon, that made it impossible for the American people to know what happened.”

AHA’s 2022 Jobs Report Featured in Inside Higher Ed Article (August 2022)

The AHA’s recently published 2022 Jobs Report, which analyzed academic hiring in history for the 2020-21 and 2021-22 cycles, was featured in an Inside Higher Ed article by Colleen Flaherty. The Jobs Report used AHA Career Center data, along with other sources, to examine history faculty job hiring.

AHA Special Projects Coordinator Testifies to Texas State Board of Education (September 2022)

On August 30, AHA special projects coordinator Julia Brookins provided testimony at a meeting of the Texas State Board of Education regarding proposed revisions to the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills for Social Studies. “Learning to do history gives students powerful examples of individual agency and decision-making and it teaches them to see larger patterns in human societies. They can recognize not just commonalities but also fundamental, almost unimaginable differences in human experiences across time and place. This will expand their vision and help them live well in today's world,” Brookins said. “The students of Texas deserve good lists of great thinkers, but much more than that, they need to learn how to think. I hope this body will focus on that. Indulging authoritarian impulses, whether they come from parents, voters, or state officials, is not the way to get Texas students ready for the marketplace of ideas. You cannot censor your way to great schools.” Brookins’ testimony begins at 1:49:15 of Part 1.

AHA and OAH Amicus Curiae Brief for Haaland v. Brackeen Featured in Native News Online (August 2022)

An amicus curiae brief submitted by the American Historical Association and the Organization of American Historians was featured in a Native News Online article by Andrew Kennard. The article summarizes the amicus briefs submitted to the US Supreme Court for Haaland v. Brackeen, a case that questions the constitutionality of the Indian Child Welfare Act (IWCA). The brief submitted by the AHA and the OAH, Kennard writes, “puts ICWA in the context of the United States’ legacy of removing Native children from their homes, dating back to the federal Indian boarding school era.”

AHA Executive Director Quoted in Washington Times Article on Portrayals of Slavery at Presidential Homes (August 2022)

AHA executive director James Grossman was quoted in a Washington Times article by Sean Salai about the increased presence of information about slavery at presidential homes such as Washington’s Mount Vernon, Jefferson’s Monticello, and Madison’s Montpelier. “It is not possible to exaggerate the importance of ideas about race and the dynamics of human slavery in trying to understand the world views of Jefferson, Madison, and Washington,” said Grossman.

AHA Special Projects Coordinator Testifies to Texas State Board of Education (August 2022)

On August 1, AHA special projects coordinator Julia Brookins provided testimony at a special meeting of the Texas State Board of Education regarding proposed revisions to the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills for Social Studies. “Texas history and the histories that you are considering here really have a lifelong impact on a lot of people,” Brookins said. “The drafts could continue to use review by scholars in each of the major subject areas, in particular for factual accuracy. . . . I recommend that the Board ask the work groups to revisit that language and I encourage . . . the integration of social studies practices into the actual course outcomes.” Brookins’ testimony begins at 2:41:16 of Part 2.

Amicus Curiae Brief and AHA-OAH Statement on Dobbs Decision Featured in News Outlets (July 2022)