The AHA has signed a letter from the Coalition for International Education in support of continued funding for Title IV-International Education Programs. HR 4508, the PROSPER Act, currently would reauthorize five Title VI programs, but would result in the elimination of six other programs without replacement. The AHA encourages members to urge their representatives to support level funding for Title VI and Fulbright-Hays.
On December 8, 2017, the Association sent a letter to Professor Carlo Montemagno, chancellor of Southern Illinois University, articulating concern about the proposed reorganization of the Southern Illinois University's administration that would eliminate the autonomy of the History department.
Following up on our alert to members on November 7, 2017, the American Historical Association has joined our colleagues in 33 other scholarly associations to oppose the proposal to tax graduate student tuition waivers as income. The associations, representing diverse disciplines across the humanities and social sciences, recognize the burden this change would place on graduate students living on modest stipends and the devastating effects this would have on higher education.
The tragic events in Charlottesville, Virginia, have re-ignited debate about the place of Confederate monuments in public spaces, as well as related conversations about the role of Confederate, neo-Nazi, and white supremacist imagery in American political culture.The AHA has released the following statement about the role of history and historians in these public conversations. Rather than seeking to provide definitive answers to the questions posed by individual monuments, the AHA emphasizes the imperative of understanding historical context in any consideration of removing or recontextualizing monuments, or renaming public spaces.
The AHA joined 29 other organizations in urging the Senate Committee on Health and Education to reauthorize and adequately fund Title VI programs in international education. “Without Title VI,” the letter states, “most of the less commonly taught languages and world regions of strategic interest would not be taught in our schools and colleges on a regular basis.”
The National Archives and Records Administration announced last week that research rooms in Washington, DC, and College Park, Maryland, will no longer have Saturday hours beginning July 22, 2017. This letter from AHA Executive Director James Grossman to David Ferriero expresses concern about the change and the nature of the announcement.
The AHA Council has signed on to a letter from the Coalition for International Education urging members of the House and Senate Appropriations Committees to reject the Trump administration proposal that threatens funding for the US Department of Education's International Education and Foreign Language Studies Programs.
The American Historical Association has sent a letter to President János Áder of Hungary opposing legislation passed by the Hungarian Parliament that targets Central European University (CEU) in Budapest. The restrictions on institutional autonomy in the legislation would undermine CEU's mission of furthering scholarly collaboration between Europe and the United States. The AHA's letter urges President Áder to preserve international cooperation and the integrity of a national and international educational resource by refraining from signing the legislation.
On April 4, 2017, AHA Executive Director Jim Grossman sent a letter to Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson urging him to reject HB 1834, which would prohibit any Arkansas public school from using materials authored by Howard Zinn in their courses.
The AHA Council voted to officially publish a statement in support of the National March for Science on April 22, 2017. The AHA is firmly aligned with the goals of the March, which calls for the continued funding of evidence-based research and education that promotes the common good.
On February 28, AHA president Tyler Stovall sent a letter to the secretary of homeland security protesting the recent detainment of Henry Rousso, distinguished historian of the Holocaust in France. Professor Rousso's detainment at the Houston airport en route to participation at a conference at Texas A&M University offers a chilling reminder of the importance of rule of law and respect for the rights of not only our colleagues but all travelers to the United States. Because the issue is of vital importance to the ability of historians to do our work, which includes international scholarly conversation, the AHA Council has voted to make the letter an official statement of the Association. The AHA continues to fight threats to the free exchange of scholarly ideas.
The American Historical Association strongly condemns the executive order issued by President Donald J. Trump on January 27 purportedly "protecting the nation from foreign terrorist entry into the United States."
At its January 5, 2017, meeting, the AHA Council approved the following statement: The AHA upholds the rights of students, faculty, and other historians to speak freely and to engage in nonviolent political action expressing diverse perspectives on historical or contemporary issues. We condemn all efforts to intimidate those expressing their views. Specifically, we condemn in the strongest terms the creation, maintenance, and dissemination of blacklists and watchlists – through media (social and otherwise) - which identify specific individuals in ways that could lead to harassment and intimidation.
