The Real Thing
Our cover this month has a double meaning. We’re delighted to present a behind-the-scenes take from Bart Elmore on researching and writing his book, Citizen Coke: The Making of Coca-Cola Capitalism. Elmore shows us how researching the soft drink, ingredient by ingredient, yielded insights about the history of US capitalism. As it turns out, Elmore is a native of Atlanta, Georgia, where the AHA will be holding its 2016 annual meeting, January 7–10. In our expanded meeting coverage this fall, you’ll find nuts and bolts of conference-going, but we also hope you’ll discover Atlanta.
Photograph: Isabelle Smeall.
Staff
From the AHA
Democratic Capitalism
In late November 1999, a brigade of turtles stormed Seattle. Surprisingly loud, quick, and agile, they thronged the streets and…
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Plotting Freedom: Data Mapping Leads to New Visions of Reconstruction
In early 1867, freedman Peter Price returned to the North Carolina plantation where he had worked the previous year. It…
Notes from the Past: Two Consort Ensembles Unveil New Seasons
Bright notes ring out from the stage, where a small group of string players sits together. They cast frequent glances…
Townhouse Notes
Found a hidden gem on the free book truck,” a former student tweeted me recently. He attached a picture of…
Charm School, from Application to Interview to Campus Visit
As leaves begin to turn their autumn hues, aspiring professors and their mentors turn their thoughts to the academic job…
Where Federal Funding for History Programs Stands as FY 2016 Begins
As this is being written in mid-September, it is becoming increasingly likely that the nation is once again going to…
New Mock Briefings Program Shows Student-Historians How to Inform Policy
This fall the National History Center is introducing the Mock Policy Briefings Program, modeled on our own Congressional Briefings by…
Sheldon Hackney (1933-2013)
Southern Historian, University President, NEH Chair, AHA Member Sheldon Hackney enjoyed a long and distinguished career as a historian, university…
Thomas Head (1956–2014)
Historian of the Middle Ages Thomas Head, professor of medieval history at Hunter College and the Graduate Center of the…
David E. Kyvig (1944–2015)
Historian of the US Constitution and Ordinary Americans, and AHA Member From the time when he served as an undergraduate…
Terence Ranger (1929–2015)
Historian of Africa Professor Terence Ranger, known to friends and colleagues as Terry, passed away on January 3, 2015, at…
Robert Solomon Wistrich (1945–2015)
Historian of Antisemitism Robert Solomon Wistrich (born Shlomo Jacobovitch Vistraikh) was born in Kazakhstan in April 1945. His parents, who…
On “The Opportunity Costs of Remaining a Book Discipline”
To the Editor: I agree with Lara Putnam (Perspectives on History, April 2015) that tenure guidelines should be more flexible,…
On the Hans Rothfels Chair at Brown University
To the editor: In 2006, the directing board of Brown University accepted a $1 million gift from an “alumnus and…
On “Counterfactual History”
To the editor: In their “Counterfactual History” essays (May 2015), Mark Grimsley and Yoav Tenembaum make the shrewd point that…
AHA Announces Inaugural Career Diversity for Historians Departmental Grants
Our first year of Career Diversity for Historians has confirmed what we initially suspected: addressing the issues embedded in graduate…
Putting the Migrant and Refugee Crisis into Historical Context at the Annual Meeting
I just arrived in Germany for a short research trip about the regulation of family migration in West Germany. While…
On Hamilton and Learning to Think Historically
The premise of Hamilton: An American Musical sounds a bit like a desperate high school history teacher’s last-ditch effort to…
AHA Member Spotlight: Mairi S. MacDonald
AHA members are involved in all fields of history, with wide-ranging specializations, interests, and areas of employment. To recognize our…
How the AHA Brings Historical Thinking to Public Conversations
In the six months since I joined the American Historical Association, I’ve witnessed historians speaking out on important issues facing…
Queer History at the 2016 Annual Meeting
Unlike some fields of history, those interested in the LGBTQ past do not have a regular annual or biannual meeting.…
DC Historians Find Community in 150-year-old Institution of Lunch
Lunch has always been one of my three favorite meals of the day. I find myself getting hungry around noontime,…
AHA Member Spotlight: Javier Puente
AHA members are involved in all fields of history, with wide-ranging specializations, interests, and areas of employment. To recognize our…
Continuing the Conversation on Dual Enrollment
By Elaine Carey Soon after publication of the September 2015 issue of Perspectives on History, I began noting lively discussions of…
How We Became the “Jailhouse Nation”: Historians Discuss Mass Incarceration in the US
How did the United States become what The Economist magazine recently referred to as the “jailhouse nation”? This was the…
Where Can You Find Data on Career Prospects for History Majors?
By Rob Townsend As tuition and student debt rise, questions from students, parents, and administrators about the future value of…
ACLS Fellowships for the African Humanities Program, China Studies, and Buddhist Studies
Every week, AHA Today showcases a new grant, fellowship, or scholarship of interest to historians which has been posted to…
Thinking Big: Presenting the October Issue of Perspectives on History
Sometimes, when an issue of Perspectives is coming together, the editors will notice a theme linking several articles together, entirely…
AHA Member Spotlight: Emily J. Levine
AHA members are involved in all fields of history, with wide-ranging specializations, interests, and areas of employment. To recognize our…
The Past for the Present
On a sunny day in September, I made a phone call home to my parents, eager to share all the…
American Historical Association Announces the 2015 Prize Winners
The American Historical Association is pleased to announce the winners of its 2015 prizes, to be awarded at the 130th…
AHA Member Spotlight: Michael A. McDonnell
AHA members are involved in all fields of history, with wide-ranging specializations, interests, and areas of employment. To recognize our…