AHA Announcements: 2023 Archive

  • Action Alert: Contact Your Representatives Now to Oppose Ohio SB 83

    Dec 08, 2023 - 

    The American Historical Association was alarmed to learn that our written testimony opposing SB 83, which was on the agenda to be heard at the meeting of the Ohio House Higher Education Committee on December 6, was dismissed along with the rest of the submissions from interested parties. Instead, ranking committee members moved for an immediate vote, and breezily told members they could consider testimonies “after the vote.” Now that SB 83 has been advanced out of the committee, it will be brought to the House floor for a vote. Despite the lack of transparency and haste with which the bill was sent through the committee, it is still possible to avert passage of this disastrous bill in the House. We urge Ohio residents to contact your representative now in the Ohio House of Representatives to express opposition to the bill. 

  • AHA Congressional Briefing on Federal Housing Policy

    Dec 04, 2023 - 

    On November 29, the AHA hosted a Congressional Briefing to offer historical perspectives on the impact of federal housing policy. Panelists Lizabeth Cohen (Harvard Univ.), N. D. B Connolly (Johns Hopkins Univ.), and D. Bradford Hunt (Loyola Univ., Chicago) provided historical context on housing policy issues that Congress engages. AHA executive director James Grossman served as moderator. The recording of the briefing is now available to watch on the AHA's YouTube channel. 

  • AHA Submits Testimony Opposing Ohio SB 83 (November 2023)

    Nov 28, 2023 - 

    The American Historical Association has submitted a letter to the Ohio House Higher Education Committee expressing strong objection to Ohio Senate Bill 83 in its current substitute version (I_135_0330-11). On its surface, SB 83 proclaims respect for “intellectual diversity.” In practice, as the AHA’s testimony explains, “a series of mandates” introduced in this legislation “repeatedly insert the will and judgement of politically appointed boards of trustees into the fundamental work of university faculty, carving out troubling new exceptions to academic freedom without any clear benefit.” While the AHA does not disagree with some of the bill’s stated goals, our testimony expresses grave doubts about the utility of the bill’s heavy-handed interventions in both history education and university administration.

  • American Historical Review Article by AHA Member Wins 2023 Arrington-Prucha Prize (November 2023)

    Nov 16, 2023 - 

    Congratulations to AHA member Gili Kliger (Harvard Univ.), whose September 2022 American Historical Review article, “Translating God on the Borders of Sovereignty,” has been awarded the Western Historical Association’s (WHA) 2023 Arrington-Prucha Prize. This prize is awarded annually by the WHA for the best essay of the year on religious history in the West.

  • Dane Kennedy Represents AHA at Inauguration of George Washington University President (November 2023)

    Nov 06, 2023 - 

    On November 3, AHA member Dane Kennedy (George Washington Univ.) represented the AHA at the inauguration of Ellen M. Granberg as the president of George Washington University. The inauguration was part a slate of events at the university celebrating the installation of Granberg as the university’s 19th president.

  • Monique Bedasse Represents AHA at Inauguration of New York University President (October 2023)

    Oct 17, 2023 - 

    On October 17, AHA member Monique Bedasse (New York Univ.) represented the AHA at the inauguration of Linda G. Mills as the president of New York University. The inauguration was part a slate of events at NYU celebrating the installation of Mills as the university’s 17th president.

  • AHA Signs On to Letter Opposing Elimination of Programs at SUNY Potsdam (October 2023)

    Oct 10, 2023 - 

    The AHA has signed onto a letter from the American Philosophical Association and other scholarly societies urging leadership at State University of New York (SUNY) at Potsdam “to reconsider SUNY Potsdam’s recently announced Financial Sustainability Plan, which proposes the elimination of 14 programs, including several core liberal arts programs.” “As part of the public university system of New York, SUNY Potsdam has obligations beyond providing basic career preparation. It is responsible for helping to educate a thoughtful, engaged, and critical citizenry who can tackle the challenges facing society today and in the future,” the statementurges. “[E]liminating students’ opportunities for deep study in liberal arts disciplines at a regional public institution such as SUNY Potsdam sends a dangerous message—that such study is a luxury, available only to those privileged enough to attend more‘elite’ universities.”

  • AHA Executive Director Joins Roundtable on Defending the Freedom to Teach Complex Themes (October 2023)

    Oct 10, 2023 - 

    AHA executive director Jim Grossman participated in a session on “Strategies for Defending the Freedom to Teach Complex Themes.” The September 30 roundtable discussion was part of a conference hosted at Flagler College on “The Freedom to Teach: Confronting Complex Themes in Contested Spaces.” The recording of the roundtable discussion is now available to view on YouTube. Grossman was joined by former AHA Council member Reginald Ellis (Florida A&M Univ.), as well as Network for Public Education board member Julian Vasquez Heilig (Western Michigan Univ.), Arizona state senator Christine Marsh, United Faculty of Florida president Paul Ortiz (Univ. of Florida), and moderator Jennifer Berkshire (Yale Univ.).

  • Leila Fawaz Represents AHA at Inauguration of Tufts University President (October 2023)

    Oct 06, 2023 - 

    On October 6, AHA member Leila Fawaz (Tufts Univ.) represented the AHA at the inauguration of Sunil Kumar as the president of Tufts University. The inauguration was part a week-long slate of events at Tufts University celebrating the installation of Kumar as the university’s 14th president.

  • AHA Congressional Briefing on History of US-China Relations (September 2023)

    Sep 21, 2023 - 

    The American Historical Association (AHA) will host a Congressional Briefing on the history of relations between the United States and China. The briefing will take place on September 29 at 9 AM ET in Rayburn House Office Building Room 2044. Moderator Tobie Meyer-Fong (Johns Hopkins Univ.) and panelists Kenneth Pomeranz (Univ. of Chicago), Shellen Xiao Wu (Lehigh Univ.), and Tim Weston (Univ. of Colorado, Boulder) will provide historical context essential to policy formation and analysis on US-China relations. A breakfast spread and coffee will be served.

  • AHA Signs On to ACLS Statement Opposing Major Cuts to West Virginia University Programs (September 2023)

    Sep 14, 2023 - 

    The AHA has signed on to a statement from the American Council of Learned Societies opposing proposed major cuts to West Virginia University (WVU) undergraduate and graduate programs across multiple departments. “By proposing [these] cuts . . . the university is denying its students and the people of West Virginia access to the wide range of knowledge necessary to fulfill that mission,” the ACLS wrote. “The path WVU is treading is unprecedented for a public flagship and dangerous for American higher education and society.”

  • AHA Signs On to CIE Letter Urging HEA-Title VI Funding for FY 2024 (September 2023)

    Sep 14, 2023 - 

    The AHA has signed on to a letter from the Coalition for International Education to leaders in the US House of Representatives Committee on Appropriations expressing “concern over reported deep reductions to the US Department of Education’s International Education and Foreign Language Studies account in the Labor, HHS, Education and Related Agencies Appropriations Bill approved by the Subcommittee before the recess.” The letter urges the committee to fund HEA-Title VI and Fulbright-Hays programs to at least the same amount that that was provided in FY 2023. “The economic well-being and national security of the United States depend substantially on its citizens’ ability to communicate and compete by knowing the languages and cultures of other countries,” the CIE writes. “[T]his funding is crucial for our nation’s prosperity and safety.”

  • AHA Releases Statement on Florida’s African American History Standards (August 2023)

    Aug 21, 2023 - 

    The AHA has released a statement on the Florida Department of Education’s new African American history standards, based on executive director Jim Grossman’s op-ed that was recently published in the Miami Herald. “What is the purpose of denying young people as comprehensive a history as possible?” the statement reads. “[T]he remedy for discomfort is not to marginalize the lasting effects of legal, economic, social, and cultural institutions that condoned the buying and selling of other humans for nearly 250 years. Our work as historians is chock-full of stories that can inspire students and readers without obscuring essential concepts. All facts and narratives require context; in the United States, slavery and racism are contexts that cannot be dismissed as ‘mere deviations.’”

  • AHA Sends Letter Opposing Alabama Legislation Stripping Funding from Department of Archives and History (July 2023)

    Jul 24, 2023 - 

    The AHA sent a letter to the Alabama legislature opposing Senate Bill 1 and House Bill 4, “which would strip important supplemental appropriations recently designated for the Alabama Department of Archives and History,” the part of the state government “dedicated to identifying, preserving, and providing permanent access to records that tell the story of all Alabamians. Furthermore, the department’s Museum of Alabama plays a critical role in making the state’s history accessible to its citizens, families, and schoolchildren.” The archival collections relied on by “genealogists, students, historians, [and] journalists” “are essential to how we learn about our individual and collective pasts,” the AHA wrote. “Meaningful access to well-preserved archives of government activities is important to a free society and a vital aspect of government accountability.”

  • AHA Congressional Briefing on Immigration along the Southwestern Border (July 2023)

    Jul 21, 2023 - 

    July 28, 2023
    9:00 a.m. ET
    Rayburn House Office Building 2075
    The AHA will host a Congressional Briefing that places the issue of immigration along the southern US border in historical context. Geraldo Cadava (Northwestern Univ.), Nara Milanich (Barnard Coll., Columbia Univ.), and Mae Ngai (Columbia Univ.) will present historical perspectives on the southwestern border as the main site of controversy over immigration to the US. The briefing is open to the public; a breakfast spread and coffee will be served.For information about attending the briefing, please email rwheatley@historians.org.

  • AHA Signs On to ACLS Statement on Supreme Court Affirmative Action Ruling (July 2023)

    Jul 07, 2023 - 

    The AHA has signed on to the ACLS’s statement on the US Supreme Court’s ruling that “race-conscious admissions programs at colleges and universities [are] unlawful, thus rejecting widely accepted practices meant to encourage diversity that have been part of US higher education for more than fifty years.” “The active participation of diverse people in the scholarly enterprise is the best way to combat historic and systemic inequities,” the statement reads. “In partnership with academic societies, scholars, administrators, supporters, and peer organizations, we seek better ways to recruit and retain a diverse community of scholars across all fields of study and to serve a more diverse professoriate. We will continue our collective effort to ignite and advance systemic change within the academy.”

  • AHA Sends Letter Opposing Museum of the American Revolution’s Hosting of Moms for Liberty Event (June 2023)

    Jun 26, 2023 - 

    The AHA has sent a letter to the Museum of the American Revolution asking that the museum “reconsider its decision to rent event space to Moms for Liberty as part of that organization’s Joyful Warriors National Summit.” “Moms for Liberty has crossed a boundary in its attempts to silence and harass teachers, rather than participate in legitimate controversy. . . .[T]his isn’t about politics or different understandings of our nation’s past; it’s about an organization whose mission is to obstruct the professional responsibilities of historians,” the AHA wrote. “We encourage you to reconsider whether this organization should be granted the legitimacy of holding a major event at a museum with the reputation and professional standing of the Museum of the American Revolution.”

  • US Supreme Court Cites AHA and OAH Amicus Curiae Brief in Haaland v. Brackeen Decision (June 2023)

    Jun 15, 2023 - 

    In the US Supreme Court’s June 15 decision in Haaland v. Brackeen upholding the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA), Justice Neil Gorsuch cited the amicus curiae brief co-sponsored by the AHA and the Organization of American Historians in his concurrence. The brief, based on decades of study and research by professional historians, aimed to provide an accurate historical perspective of the IWCA as the court considered the case.

  • AHA Endorses Senate Resolution Recognizing Anniversary of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre (June 2023)

    Jun 05, 2023 - 

    The AHA has endorsed a US Senate resolution “recognizing the anniversary of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre and honoring the lives and legacies of the nearly 300 Black individuals who were killed and the nearly 9,000 Black individuals who were left homeless and penniless as a result.” Executive director Jim Grossman said about the resolution, “Everything has a history, including white supremacy and the many forms of violence, coercion, and cultural practices that have legitimated and enforced it. What happened in Tulsa was extreme, but not unusual. It is part of our nation's heritage. We must acknowledge that heritage, learn from it, and do whatever each of us can to ensure that it is just that—heritage, rather than continuing practice.”

  • NARA Provides Update on Status of Research Rooms (June 2023)

    Jun 05, 2023 - 

    In response to a request from the AHA and other organizations, the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) has provided an update on the status of their research rooms, all of which are open to the public and welcome researchers. Learn how to arrange your research visit in advance. Download the update as a PDF.

  • AHA Releases Statement Opposing Exclusion of LGBTQ+ History in Florida (May 2023)

    May 16, 2023 - 

    The AHA has released a statement condemning the Florida Department of Education (FLDOE)’s recent ruling banning educators from “provid[ing] classroom instruction to students in grades 4 through 12 on sexual orientation or gender identity unless such instruction is . . . expressly required by state academic standards.” “This erasure flattens the story of America’s long Civil Rights Movement…[and] bars students from examining cultures, religions, and societies—including Indigenous nations within Florida—that have embraced traditions of gender fluidity and homosexuality as meaningful categories of social identity and organization,” the AHA wrote. “We ask that the FLDOE reconsider its vague and destructive policy of censorship, and instead encourage the teaching of accurate and inclusive histories of the United States and the world.” To date, 51 organizations have signed on to the statement.

  • AHA Sends Letter to Alabama Senate Opposing “Divisive Concepts” Bill (May 2023)

    May 16, 2023 - 

    The AHA has sent a letter to the Alabama Senate opposing Senate Bill 247, which would “make it virtually impossible for history educators to help students thoughtfully consider the continuing impacts of slavery and racism in American history.” By requiring public schools, colleges, and universities to teach that slavery and racism are solely “deviations from, betrayals of, and failures to live up to the founding principles of the United States,” SB 247 “would therefore prohibit teachers from asking students to consider a diverse set of primary sources and wrestle with one of the central academic issues in historical scholarship for more than 50 years: the historical relationship between slavery and freedom. . . . If passed, this bill would result in ignorance of basic facts about American history and undermine the education of Alabama’s students, including their ability to perform effectively in advanced coursework, whether in high school or college.”

  • Action Alert: Ohio Senate Hearing on SB 83

    May 15, 2023 - 

    In April, the AHA sent a letter to members of the Ohio Senate registering “strong objection” to Ohio Senate Bill 83, which would “undermine the integrity of education in Ohio’s public universities.” The AHA urges members in Ohio to submit testimony to the Senate Workforce and Higher Education committee opposing SB 83. The bill will be heard, with a possible vote, on May 17 at 9:30 AM. 

  • AHA Signs On to CIE Letter Urging Title VI Funding for FY 2024 (May 2023)

    May 12, 2023 - 

    The AHA signed on to letters from the Coalition for International Education asking leaders in the US Senate and House of Representatives to approve “robust funding” for HEA-Title VI, International Education, and Fulbright-Hays programs. With this funding, the letter states, “Students from all racial and socio-economic backgrounds would have more opportunities to obtain the international experience and skills in growing demand across a wide range of professional and technical fields impacting our global engagement, security and competitiveness.”

  • AHA and SAA Webinar on Presidential Records Act to Re-Air on C-SPAN (May 2023)

    May 11, 2023 - 

    The April 4 webinar, “History Behind the Headlines: Presidential Records Act” will re-air on Saturday, May 13, at 7:30 p.m. ET on C-SPAN2. This event, organized by the AHA and the Society of American Archivists, brought together four leading scholars to put recent events surrounding presidential records in historical context. The webinar was moderated by Peniel E. Joseph (Univ. of Texas, Austin) and included panelists Nicole Hemmer (Vanderbilt Univ.), Timothy Naftali (New York Univ.), and Trudy Huskamp Peterson (former acting archivist of the United States).

  • AHA Congratulates Dr. Colleen Shogan on Confirmation as the Archivist of the United States (May 2023)

    May 10, 2023 - 

    The AHA congratulates Dr. Colleen Shogan on her confirmation as the Archivist of the United States. We look forward to collaborating with Dr. Shogan and her colleagues at the National Archives and Records Administration. In September 2022, the AHA wrote a letter enthusiastically supporting Dr. Shogan's nomination.

  • AHA Submits Testimony Opposing Ohio Learning Standards Legislation (May 2023)

    May 09, 2023 - 

    The AHA has submitted testimony to the Ohio House Primary and Secondary Education Committee expressing “grave concern” about House Bill 103, which would create a new, politically appointed task force to produce state social studies standards. The legislation, the AHA wrote, “would create an entirely new bureaucratic apparatus as a strategy for overruling an open, democratic, and professional process.” Additionally, HB 103 singles out the American Birthright model standards, which emphasize “content in place of critical thinking … focus[ing] narrowly on lessons about how students should feel about the United States,” as the basis for “a radical overhaul of history and social studies education in Ohio.”

  • AHA Sends Letter to North Carolina House of Representatives Opposing Bill to Eliminate Tenure (May 2023)

    May 03, 2023 - 

    The AHA has sent a letter to members of the North Carolina House of Representatives: the Education—Community Colleges Committee, and the Education—Universities Committee. The letter opposes HB 715, which would eliminate tenure for new hires at state universities beginning in July 2024.  This, the AHA wrote, is “a short-sighted and ill-conceived policy that would significantly undercut what has been accomplished over decades by the thousands of individuals responsible for building a university system that ranks among the best in the world. . . . . Tenure helps to protect university classrooms and laboratories as spaces where learning is advanced and new knowledge is created, rather than any given political platform promoted.”

  • AHA Sends Letter to Florida Senate Opposing Restrictive Education Bill (May 2023)

    May 02, 2023 - 

    The AHA has sent a letter to the Florida Senate registering “strong objection” to SB 266, legislation which “proposes to allow the study of the past only through an exceedingly narrow and tendentious frame.” As an amended version of HB 999, about which the AHA “expressed horror” in March, “the new provisions would serve only to restrict the extent to which history faculty are allowed to introduce Florida students to non-Western civilizations. . . . [T]he bill’s repeated emphasis on teaching only a thin slice of history to all students in required courses would hobble students and deprive them of the chance to become global leaders.”

  • American Historical Review Selected for Inclusion in 2023 Association of University Presses Book, Jacket, and Journal Show (April 2023)

    Apr 28, 2023 - 

    The American Historical Review was selected for inclusion in the 2023 Association of University Presses Book, Jacket, and Journal Show in the journals category. This year, AUP member presses submitted 488 publications in a variety of design categories, with 83 selected for inclusion. The AHA submitted the September 2022 issue of the AHR, which is the third issue incorporating the journal's first major redesign in 50 years. 

  • AHA Sends Letter to SFSU President Regarding “Investigation” of History Professor (April 2023)

    Apr 27, 2023 - 

    The AHA has sent a letter to San Francisco State University president Lynn Mahoney expressing “deep concern” regarding the university’s “investigation” of Professor Maziar Behrooz for showing a drawing of the prophet Muhammad in his course on the history of the Islamic world between 500 and 1700. “Sanctioning Professor Behrooz for showing an image relevant to the course on grounds that it offended a student would constitute a serious breach of the professor’s academic freedom,” the AHA wrote. “Any attempts to ban the teaching of primary sources on the grounds that they offend religious sensibilities would mean that SFSU would be taking a position on a theological matter—one that is well beyond the purview of institutions of higher education.”

  • AHA Sends Letter to Texas House of Representatives Opposing Legislation to Eliminate Tenure (April 2023)

    Apr 26, 2023 - 

    The AHA has sent a letter to the members of the Texas House of Representatives opposing SB 18, which would eliminate tenure for new hires at public institutions in the state beginning in 2024. “Tenure helps to protect university classrooms and laboratories as spaces where learning is advanced and new knowledge is created, rather than any given political platform promoted,” the AHA wrote. “Were Texas to eliminate ‘tenure-track’ positions… any public university in Texas would immediately become an employer of last choice among scholars who desire an environment amenable to high-quality teaching and research.”

  • AHA Sends Letter Opposing Proposed South Dakota Social Studies Standards (April 2023)

    Apr 14, 2023 - 

    The AHA has sent a letter to the South Dakota Board of Education Standards registering strong concern that the social studies standards draft on the agenda for the Board of Education Standards’ April 17 meeting fails to satisfy the AHA’s Criteria for Standards in History/Social Studies/Social Sciences. “The document’s numerous flaws can be traced to a process that was rushed, secretive, and driven by political motives at the expense of the educational needs of South Dakota students,” the AHA wrote. “The AHA joins a clear majority of South Dakotans in its assessment of this unabashed attempt to interfere in K–12 social studies education.”

  • AHA Sends Letter to Ohio Senate Opposing Higher Education Bill (April 2023)

    Apr 12, 2023 - 

    The AHA has sent a letter to members of the Ohio Senate registering “strong objection” to Ohio Senate Bill 83, which would “undermine the integrity of education in Ohio’s public universities.” The level of state oversight described in the bill, the AHA wrote, “smacks less of guaranteeing the ideological diversity cited in the legislation than government surveillance more closely resembling the Soviet Union or Communist China than a public university system in the United States. . . . If passed, SB 83 would undermine the quality of public higher education in Ohio by preventing qualified instructors from teaching honest and accurate history.”

  • Hiring: Researcher for Mapping the Landscape Initiative (March 2023)

    Mar 27, 2023 - 

    The AHA is accepting applications for a full-time researcher for our Mapping the Landscape of Secondary US History Education initiative, the AHA's multi-stage effort to provide a research-based grounding for ongoing civic deliberations about the teaching of US history in American classrooms. Review of applications will begin on April 21, 2023, and continue until the position is filled.

  • AHA, NCSS, and Virginia Educational Organizations Release Collaborative Strikethrough and Review of Proposed Draft Standards (March 2023)

    Mar 14, 2023 - 

    On March 13, the AHA, the National Council for the Social Studies, and four Virginia educational organizations released a Collaborative Strikethrough and Review proposing revisions to the History and Social Science Standards of Learning for Virginia Public Schools. This document suggests specific changes to improve draft standards as the Department of Education prepares for a final round of edits before anticipated adoption in April. We encourage Virginians to attend one of six public hearings and provide written comment before March 21. The AHA has developed an action alert, including a briefing memo, to help Virginians navigate the public review process.

  • Action Alert – Public Review of Virginia History and Social Science Standards of Learning

    Mar 10, 2023 - 

    The American Historical Association (AHA) has continued to monitor with concern the revisions process for proposed History and Social Science Standards of Learning for Virginia Public Schools. Now, the Virginia Board of Education (VBOE) wants to hear from members of the public in preparation for final review. The AHA encourages you to make your voice heard.

  • AHA Issues Statement on Florida Higher Education Bill (March 2023)

    Mar 06, 2023 - 

    The AHA has released a statement on Florida House Bill 999, “express[ing] horror . . . at the assumptions that lie at the heart of this bill and its blatant and frontal attack on principles of academic freedom and shared governance central to higher education in the United States.” “What has previously best been characterized as unwarranted political intervention into public education has now escalated to an attempt at a hostile takeover of a state’s system of higher education,” the AHA writes. “This is not only about Florida. It is about the heart and soul of public higher education in the United States and about the role of history, historians, and historical thinking in the lives of the next generation of Americans.” To date, 84 organizations have signed onto the statement. 

  • AHA Signs ACLS Statement Opposing Florida House Bill 999 (March 2023)

    Mar 06, 2023 - 

    The AHA has signed onto a statement from the American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS) opposing Florida House Bill 999, “protest[ing] this proposed legislation and call[ing] on citizens to recognize the danger it poses to higher education in this country.” If HB 999 passes, the ACLS writes, “it ends academic freedom in the state’s public colleges and universities, with dire consequences for their teaching, research, and financial well-being. . . . Academic freedom means freedom of thought, not the state-mandated production of histories edited to suit one party’s agenda in the current culture wars.”

  • AHA Sends Letter Expressing Concern for US Citizen and History Teacher Imprisoned in Russia (March 2023)

    Mar 02, 2023 - 

    The AHA has sent a letter to US Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken expressing “grave concern” for Marc Fogel, a US citizen and history teacher currently imprisoned in Russia, and urging that he be designated as “wrongfully detained” under the Robert Levinson Hostage Recovery and Hostage-Taking Accountability Act. “We respectfully urge the reclassification of Mr. Fogel and the respect of his civil and legal rights,” the AHA wrote. “We ask for immediate attention to this matter to ensure Mr. Fogel’s health and well-being.”

  • AHA Sends Letter to Marymount University Opposing Proposed Elimination of History Major (February 2023)

    Feb 16, 2023 - 

    The AHA has sent a letter to Marymount University president Irma Becerra opposing the “short-sighted decision to propose to Marymount University’s governing board the elimination of history and other humanities majors” at the university. “We urge Marymount University to reconsider this decision, which undermines the university’s commitment to ‘intellectual curiosity, service to others, and a global perspective’,” the AHA wrote.

  • AHA Signs On to ACLS Statement in Support of Academic Freedom and New College of Florida (February 2023)

    Feb 14, 2023 - 

    The AHA has signed on to a statement from the American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS) “in support of ex-President [Dr. Patricia] Okker, the New College community, and faculty and students at institutions of higher education around the country” following Florida governor Ron DeSantis’s politically motivated “overhaul” of New College of Florida. “Their attacks threaten public understanding of our nation’s history and culture, and they undermine key principles of academic freedom and faculty governance,” the ACLS writes. 

  • AHA Manager of Teaching and Learning Testifies before Virginia Board of Education (February 2023)

    Feb 09, 2023 - 

    On February 2, Brendan Gillis, manager of teaching and learning at the AHA, testified before the Virginia Board of Education's hearing on the history and social studies standards revisions process. He spoke in support of the collaborative Combined History and Social Science Standards for Virginia developed by the AHA, the Virginia Social Studies Leaders Consortium, and the Virginia Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development. Brendan reported on the AHA's involvement in Perspectives on History, "The Uncertain Future of Social Studies in Virginia." The AHA has also shared action alerts with VA members encouraging testimony and submitted comments on the draft standards

  • AHA Issues Action Alert Concerning Proposed History Standards for Virginia (February 2023)

    Feb 01, 2023 - 

    The agenda for the February meeting of the Virginia State Board of Education (VBOE), scheduled for 9:00 a.m. ET on Thursday, February 2, suggests that state Superintendent Jillian Balow has decided to proceed without consideration of the December collaborative combined history standards developed and endorsed by the AHA in partnership with VASCD and VASSLC. The AHA has sent the following message to its members in Virginia.

  • AHA Sends Letter to US Secretary of State Urging Assistance with Safe Return of Pierre Buteau (January 2023)

    Jan 27, 2023 - 

    The AHA has sent a letter to US Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken regarding the January 24 abduction of Professor Pierre Buteau, president of the Société Haïtienne d’Histoire, de Géographie et de Géologie. “We recognize that the crisis of domestic insecurity in Haiti goes well beyond the fate of a single individual,” the AHA writes. “Understanding Haiti’s history is an essential element of any viable long-term response to this crisis, and Professor Buteau has devoted his professional life to bringing such understanding to bear on the challenge of re-founding a democratic state in his native land. On behalf of the American historical community, we appeal to you to use your good offices at this difficult time in Haiti’s history to do whatever is possible to help secure the safe release of Professor Buteau.”

  • AHA Supports Collaborative History Standards for Virginia (January 2023)

    Jan 26, 2023 - 

    The American Historical Association has monitored with increasing concern Virginia’s history and social studies standards revisions process. On February 2, the Virginia Board of Education (VBOE) will discuss whether to accept draft standards developed by the AHA and our collaborators for first review, or to move forward with an alternative put forward by the politically appointed state superintendent. We encourage testimony at the hearing and/or to submit written comments in support of the AHA-endorsed draft document.

  • AHA Signs On to American Anthropological Association Letter Opposing Appointees to New College of Florida Governing Board (January 2023)

    Jan 25, 2023 - 

    The AHA has signed onto a letter from the American Anthropological Association opposing Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’s appointment of six new members to the New College of Florida governing board. “The brazen aspiration of transforming a nationally ranked public honors college into a college along the lines of the private evangelical Christian Hillsdale College is especially alarming and appears to be nothing more than an orchestrated attack on academic integrity.”

  • AHA Sends Letters Opposing Proposed Elimination of History Major at Marymount University (January 2023)

    Jan 25, 2023 - 

    The AHA has sent letters to Marymount University president Irma Becerra, provost Hesham El-Rewini, Faculty Council president Sarah Ficke, and Board of Trustees chair Edward Bersoff opposing the proposed elimination of the history major at the university. “The AHA has seen this approach to prioritization and restructuring before, and the results have been detrimental to students. . . . Overwhelming evidence shows that employers seek the kind of skills a history degree can provide,” the AHA wrote. “This elimination is an especially wrongheaded shift at a time when civic leaders from all corners of the political landscape have lamented the lack of historical knowledge of American citizens. Offering a history major is standard at comprehensive universities, and the elimination of the history major would place Marymount far outside the mainstream of its peer institutions.”

  • AHA Signs Onto CIE Letter Urging Title VI Funding for 2023 (January 2023)

    Jan 11, 2023 - 

    The AHA signed onto a letter from the Coalition for International Education asking leaders in the US Senate and House of Representatives for “robust funding for HEA-Title VI, International Education, and Fulbright-Hays programs.” In addition to “strengthen[ing] the key Title VI foundational programs that address the nation’s critical and expanding needs for deep expertise in foreign languages, world regions and international business,” the letter states, this funding “will incentivize research and innovation in U.S. international education capacity, organization and delivery to meet 21st century challenges, as well as expand international and foreign language education to traditionally underserved students and institutions.”

  • AHA Issues Guidelines for Broadening the Definition of Historical Scholarship (January 2023)

    Jan 05, 2023 - 

    The AHA has issued Guidelines for Broadening the Definition of Historical Scholarship. These guidelines lay the foundation for a broad expansion of what constitutes historical scholarship.