In the March issue of Perspectives on History hear from AHA President Barbara D. Metcalf as she considers views of Lincoln in India in “Anniversary Anecdotes and Contesting Clichés “ and Executive Director Arnita A. Jones as she presents “The Education of Historians for the Twenty-First Century Revisited.” This issue also addresses topics on writing history, using film and alternative methods in the classroom, the 124th annual meeting, and assorted news. Read on for more.

Writing History
Continuing with our “Art of History” series, Dipesh Chakrabarty follows Lynn Hunt’s well received article “How Writing Leads to Thinking (and not the other way around)” with “Crafting Histories: For Whom Does One Write?” in which he considers how one writes for a wider audience. Russell Olwell addresses the same topic, but focuses in on specifically targeting one’s writing for young adults in “Reaching a Broader Audience: History Writing for the Young Adult Market.”

In the Classroom
Another series, “Masters at the Movies,” marches on with Philippa Levine’s article on “The Trouble with Film.” But first read Robert Brent Toplin’s introduction, “Take 13: Philippa Levine on the Trouble with Film,” where he sets the stage. Levine, he says, “challenges us to confront fundamental questions about the value of dramatic cinema for thinking about history.”

While incorporating film is one approach to teaching, Ralph Young offers another in “Teaching History Sixties Style at Temple University.” In his article Young presents his experiences of incorporating “teach-ins” to the “Dissent in America” class that he taught. His teach-ins were not only valuable to his students but also “highlighted how important historical literacy is for all citizens.” Once you’ve read his article be sure to check out his Dissent in America Teach-In Facebook page.

124th Annual Meeting
Revisit some topics from the 124th Annual Meeting this past January with “Some Retrospective Snapshots,” “ Festival of Films at the 124th Annual Meeting” by Chris Hale, and Sharon K. Tune’s compilation of “Awards and Honors “ from the meeting.

AHA News
A number of timely articles make up this issue, including Robert B. Townsend’s analysis, “Putting Academic History in Context: A Survey of Humanities Departments.” Read also the news that “AHA Joins Call for Fair and Equitable Treatment of All Faculty.” In other AHA news, a list of new Council and committee officers, Council decisions from this past January, and a nod to last year’s donors to the AHA. We also recognize the passing of J. Carroll Moody.

Other News
From Lee White and the National Coalition for history comes the article, “Cuts Proposed for History-Related Programs in Federal Budget for Fiscal 2011.” The National History Center also contributes with a note about their “Participants Selected for Summer 2010 Seminar on Decolonization.” And finally, read Rick Kennedy’s write-up on the Conference on Faith and History, an affiliate of the AHA.

This post first appeared on AHA Today.