Historians Making News

This space highlights the accomplishments of historians. Members and non-member historians are encouraged to submit news about prizes, promotions, honors, tenure, and new jobs. Entries to be considered for inclusion on "Historians Making News" can be about yourself, another historian, or group of historians. AHA staff will review all submissions.

  • Member Op-Ed on the Importance of the 14th Amendment

    Jul 20, 2018 - 

    Martha Jones, professor of presidential history at Johns Hopkins University and AHA member, published an op-ed in the Washington Post concerning the historical context of the 14th Amendment in the wake of President Trump's comments on birthright citizenship. "Birthright has been affirmed, again and again, ensuring that no matter how racist the regime, the Constitution grants citizenship to all people born in the United States," Jones writes in her piece, specifically pointing to cases like U.S. v. Wong Kim Ark that cited the 14th Amendment in their defense of citizenship by birth. "The rising calls to repeal birthright citizenship demand that we equip ourselves for the debate that is on the near horizon."

  • AHA Member Writes Op-Ed Concerning State of Medieval Studies

    Jul 17, 2018 - 

    Matthew Gabriele, AHA member and professor of medieval history at Virginia Tech, penned an op-ed in Forbes urging historians to be aware of the role they play in the political appropriation of traditional medieval symbols and iconography. "Marginalizing the voices of scholars asking questions about the state of the field, about what we study and how we study it, is not only ignoring the history of Medieval Studies but further distancing us from the past we're all so interested in," Gabriele concludes. 

  • ACLS Announces Inaugural Class of Project Development Grants

    Jun 28, 2018 - 

    The American Council of Learned Societies announced the inaugural recipients of the ACLS Project Development Grants. The $5,000 seed grants are intended to support humanities faculty at teaching-intensive institutions. Among the 15 recipients are six historians. Visit the ACLS website to see the full list of recipients. 

  • AHR Article Awarded Berks Prize

    Jun 13, 2018 - 

    Congratulations to Vanessa Ogle (Univ. of California, Berkeley) for receiving a 2017 article prize from the Berkshire Conference of Women Historians. Published in the December 2017 issue of the American Historical Review, Ogle's article, "Archipelago Capitalism: Tax Havens, Offshore Money, and the State, 1950s-1970s," was recognized as one of the best articles in a field of history other than the history of women, gender, and/or sexuality. 

  • AHA Members Included in 2018 Class of ACLS Public Fellows

    Jun 07, 2018 - 

    The ACLS announced the eighth annual cohort of Mellon/ACLS Public Fellows. Among the program's 24 fellows are three AHA members. Each fellow will be placed in a two-year, full-time position with a nonprofit organization or government agency working in the fields of policy, civil rights, arts, and the media. To see the full news post, please visit the ACLS website.

  • AHA Institutional Members Awarded AAC&U Grants for History Departments

    May 25, 2018 - 

    On May 21, the Association of American Colleges and Universities announced it will be awarding funding to 24 history departments to "advance civic learning and social responsibility as expected dimensions within students' majors." Among the institutions listed are the State University of New York, College at Geneseo and the University of Central Florida, both AHA institutional members. To see the full list of recipients, visit the AAC&U's website. 

  • AHA Teaching Division VP Publishes Op-Ed on #MeToo in Academia

    May 22, 2018 - 

    Elizabeth Lehfeldt, vice president of the AHA's Teaching Division, published an op-ed for Inside Higher Ed discussing how the #MeToo movement has affected higher education and what steps are needed to improve campus working environments. Read the full article online.

  • ACLS to Provide Funding for Historical Research in China

    May 22, 2018 - 

    The American Council of Learned Societies announced the 2018 class of grantees for its Programs in China Studies. Among the list of 33 scholars who will receive funding are thirteen historians and four AHA members. With aid from The Henry Luce Foundation, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the Chiang Ching-kuo Foundation for International Scholarly Exchange, the ACLS is providing over $720,000 to fund scholarly research in China. 

  • AHA Members Awarded 2018 Mellon/ACLS Fellowships

    May 17, 2018 - 

    On April 25, the American Council of Learned Societies announced the 2018 Mellon/ACLS Dissertation Completion Fellows. Among the 67 scholars awarded were 13 AHA members. Each fellowship provides a $30,000 stipend and up to $8,000 in research funds and university fees to graduate students in their final year of dissertation writing. To see the full list of fellows, visit the ACLS website. 

  • Schmitt Grant Awardee Writes Op-Ed on Monument to Russian Tsar in Crimea

    May 17, 2018 - 

    Ala Creciun Graff, AHA member and recipient of one of the Association's 2018 Bernadotte Schmitt Grants, wrote an op-ed for the Baltimore Sun concerning the symbolism of the newly unveiled statue of Russian Tsar Alexander III in Crimea. Graff sees this statue as evidence of Moscow's desire "to signal historical continuities with the peninsula" and Putin's larger goal "to re-assert Russia on the global stage."

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