International Federation for Research in Women’s History
A long-time dream of historians of women, dating back to 1975, became a reality in late September in Athens, Greece, when the recently founded International Federation for Research in Women’s History won approval as an internal commission of the International Committee of Historical Sciences (ICHS).
The Federation will organize a two day program on women’s history topics during the week-long 1990 Congress of the !CHS, details of which appear on page 6, in Madrid. In addition, the Federation has been charged with organizing a session in the general program on changing occupations of women since the Industrial Revolution.
The goals of the Federation are to bring together researchers on the history of women from many countries and to promote research and publications in women’s history throughout the international community of historians. The interim board of the Federation includes Ida Blom (University of Bergen, Norway), president; Salvi Sogner (University of Oslo, Norway), vice-president; Karen Offen (Stanford University); and Gisela Bock (European University Institute, Florence, Italy).
National committees serve as liaison between communities of researchers and the Federation. So far, national committees from thirteen countries have adhered to the Federation’s statutes: Australia, Brazil, Canada, Denmark, Great Britain, Federal Republic of Germany, Democratic German Republic, India, Japan, Nigeria, Norway, Sweden, and USA. The International Commission on Historical Demography is also affiliated with the Federation.
The Federation welcomes inquiries from historians of women in other countries. Further information can be obtained from the board members or by writing the president, Ida Blom, c/o Department of History, University of Bergen, Sydnesplass 9, N-5000 Bergen, Norway.
History Book Production Not as Dismal as Last Reported
History book output rallied in the final quarter of 1986. Whereas the provisional figures quoted in the May/June issue of Perspectives, p. 16, painted a gloomy picture of declining production figures for history and other humanities topics, a 16 percent decline to be exact. When all the figures were in, R.R. Bowker’s databases reported a total of nearly 53,000 new titles and new editions published in the US in 1986. Of that total, 2,471 (both paper and hard-bound) were in the history category. So, instead of the disturbing 16 percent decline in production from 1985, the end-of-year tally showed an increase of output of nearly 6 percent.
Prices are also on the rise, however. And the final figures showed an average per-volume price increase over 1985 of 3.3 percent.
The first two quarters of 1987 have showed a respectable gain in book sales for university presses, 8.4 percent second-quarter increase in units over 1986 and 3.8 percent first quarter unit increase over the same quarter of 1986. College texts showed an 8 percent unit drop in the second quarter of 1987 compared with the same period of time last year. These sales figures are according to the October 16, 1987 issue of Publishers Weekly.
AHA Member to Be One of First Clare Boothe Luce Professors
In a program designed to advance women to the highest rungs of the academic ladder, four scholars have been named the first Clare Boothe Luce Professors. Clare Boothe Luce, who had a distinguished career in journalism, diplomacy, and public service, died on October 9, 1987 in Washington, D.C.
The Henry Luce Foundation recently announced that Brown, Columbia, New York, and Yale Universities would be the first participants in the program, which will enable major research institutions to offer two-year visiting professorships to outstanding women scholars. One of the first four scholars named is Jacqueline Jones, professor of history at Wellesley College. Professor Jones will go to Brown University.
The fellows will be given stipends ranging from $30,000 to $100,000, depending on seniority, as well as benefits and, in some cases, travel money. They will teach one course per semester and devote the rest of their time to research and writing.
The Henry Luce Foundation officials noted that while women hold a majority of faculty positions, they account for only 21 percent of professors with tenure. That figure is even lower at major research universities. It is anticipated, however, that the fellowship program may grow to support professorships at twelve to fifteen institutions.
The Columbian Quincentenary
In honor of the 500th anniversary of Christopher Columbus’s first voyage to the New World, the National Endow ment for the Humanities announces a special competition for planning grants in Public Humanities Projects. Projects should focus on the scholarly issues raised by the Columbian Quincentenary. Colleges and universities, museums, historical societies, archives, libraries, community organizations, and other nonprofit institutions are encouraged to apply.
Public Humanities Projects offers support for symposia, film series with colloquia, debates, reading and discussion groups, and panel exhibits that bring the humanities to the general public. For this special competition the program is especially interested in collaborative projects or projects that com bine various formats for programs addressing out-of-school audiences.
Planning grants of up to $20,000 will be offered for projects ranging from six months to one year. The deadline for receipt of applications is March 18, 1988. Inquiries for more information, guidelines, and application forms should be addressed to: Public Humanities Projects, Columbian Quincentenary, Planning Grants, Division of General Programs, Room 426, National Endowment for the Humanities, 1100 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20506; 202/786-0271.
Also, available from the Christopher Columbus Quincentenary Jubilee Commission is its newsletter entitled Commission News. The front-and-back single sheet publication, to appear on a monthly basis, is available free of charge and can be obtained by writing to the Christopher Columbus Quincentenary Jubilee Commission, 1801 F Street NW, Washington, DC 20006.
When Was Lincoln President?
In 1986 the National Assessment of Educational Progress was funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities to study what 8,000 seventeen-year-old public and private school students know about history and literature. The alarm ing results were published in What Do Our 17-Year-Olds Know? (Harper & Row) by AHA member Diane Ravitch, adjunct professor of history and education, Teachers College, Columbia University, and Chester Finn, Jr., assistant secretary of education.
The authors write that the students, a representative group of different races, both sexes, and from all regions, could answer only 54 percent of the history questions correctly and only 52 percent of the literature questions. For example, one-third of the students did not know what the Brown v. Board of Education decision meant, 75 percent did not know when Lincoln was President, 70 percent could not identify the Magna Carta, and one-third did not know where the phrase “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” comes from.
Some unusual findings from the test, which also asked students about their backgrounds and habits, were discovered, such as students who have computers did much better on the test than those who do not; and it was found that those black students who scored high on the questionnaire scored highest of all students in the history section.
The authors offer recommendations in the final chapter of What Do Our 17- Year-Olds Know?, among which are mandatory world history class, geography class “in a historical context,” the teaching of history so that people and events are seen in relation to consequential social and economic trends, and a great er emphasis on reading literature.
Benjamin Franklin House Restoration Project
The only surviving residence of Benjamin Franklin is situated at 36 Craven Street near Trafalgar Square in London. His houses in Philadelphia and ambassadorial residences in Paris have not survived. The Craven Street house has been acquired from British Rail by the Friends of the Franklin House, a British non-profit organization. A companion group, known as the American Franklin Friends Committee, has been established in Washington, DC. The two groups are working to restore the house to its original condition and maintain the residence as a Franklin museum. The restoration project is officially recognized by The Commission on the Bicentennial of the United States Constitution. For information write the American Franklin Friends Committee, 3006 32nd St. NW, Washington, DC 20008; 202/338-3548.
Bradley Commission on History in Schools
In response to widespread concern over the apparent decline in the quantity of history taught in American elementary and secondary schools, and in response to the several recent reform proposals for American Education, the Educational Excellence Network (EEN) at Teachers College, Columbia University, is undertaking a nationwide examination of the status of history studies in US schools. The Commission of historians and teachers of history is chaired by Kenneth T. Jackson, professor of history at Columbia University. The Commission also includes three former AHA presidents: Gordon A. Craig, Stanford University, president in 1982; William H. McNeill, University of Chicago, president in 1985; and C. Vann Woodward, Yale University, president in 1969; and Marjorie Bingham, a current member of the Teaching Division. For information write the Bradley Commission, 26915 Westwood Rd. #A-2, Westlake, OH 44145; 216/835-1776.
