The 112th annual meeting of the American Historical Association will be held in Seattle at the Washington State Convention and Trade Center, the Sheraton Seattle, and the Westin Seattle hotels. Hotel reservation information is included on pages 12 and 13 of this issue of Perspectives. The meeting preregistration form will be in the October Perspectives, the annual meeting Program (which will be mailed out the first week of October), and the Association's World Wide Web home page at http://chnm.gmu.edu/chnm/aha.

With 160 "official" sessions, this will be the Association's largest program ever, and many of the profession's most distinguished members will be present to deliver papers. More than 800 scholars, including 70 foreign scholars, are expected to participate in sessions at the three-day meeting. In addition, over three dozen specialized societies will be meeting in conjunction with the AHA. Each society will be holding its own sessions, luncheons, and/or meetings, as well as some joint sessions with the Association.

On the evening of January 9, Joyce Appleby (UCLA) will deliver the presidential address. President-elect Joseph C. Miller (Univ. of Virginia) will also announce the Association's book awards, Awards for Scholarly Distinction, the Eugene Asher Distinguished Teaching Award, the Beveridge Family Teaching Prize, the John William Gilbert Award, the John E. O'Connor Film Award, the Nancy Lyman Roelker Mentorship Award, and the 1997 Honorary Foreign Member.

Accommodations

AHA annual meeting sessions as well as affiliated society sessions and events are scheduled in the Convention Center, the Sheraton Seattle, and the Westin Seattle hotels. Blocks of rooms have been reserved at several downtown Seattle hotels, including the Sheraton, the Westin, the Crowne Plaza Seattle, Four Seasons Olympic, the Madison, and the Seattle Hilton. The Washington State Convention & Trade Center, located at 800 Convention Place, will house AHA registration, the AHA Book Exhibit, the Job Register, and some AHA and affiliate sessions. The Sheraton will serve as headquarters hotel, and is located directly across the street from the Convention Center at 1400 Sixth Avenue. The Westin will serve as co-headquarters and is four blocks from the Convention Center at 1900 Fifth Avenue. All hotels are within a four-block walk of the Convention Center.

Hotel reservations must be made in writing on the reservation form and mailed to the AHA Housing Bureau at 520 Pike Street, Suite 1300, Seattle, WA 98101. If you elect to use a credit card, you may fax this form to the bureau at (206) 461-5853. Reservations are processed on a first-come, first-served basis. Direct telephone reservations with the hotels or bureau will not be accepted. A credit" card guarantee is required for all reservations. American Express, Visa, MasterCard, and Diners Club are acceptable for deposits. If you wish to guarantee your room with a check, you may send a first night's deposit directly to your assigned hotel. Do not mail cash or checks with the housing form.

Upon receipt, the bureau will send an acknowledgment either by mail or by fax (if you have indicated a fax number on your housing form). The acknowledgment is followed by an actual confirmation by the hotel; please allow two to three weeks for receipt of confirmation from the hotel. Changes or cancellations should be made directly and in writing with the Housing Bureau. If a change or cancellation occurs within two weeks of the convention dates, you should contact your assigned hotel directly. Cut-off date is December 8. After that date, the hotels will process reservations and changes subject to space and rate availability.

State and local taxes on the hotel rates total 15.29 percent per room, per night. The rates also include a $4 per room, per night rebate to assist the Association in underwriting the costs of using the Washington State Convention Center.

Transportation to Seattle

The AHA encourages participants to make flight arrangements through Association Travel Concepts (ATC), the AHA's official travel agent for the meeting. When booking through ATC, you will receive 5-10 percent off the ticketed price on the AHA's contracted carrier, United Airlines. You can save $25-$75 off the ticket price on all major carriers, including United, as part of the ATC Travelsavers Club. You can also arrange to rent a car through Alamo Rent-A-Car, with discounted rates effective from January 1-18, 1998. Contact ATC at (800) 458-9383.

Ground Transportation

Arriving by Air. The Seattle area is served by the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, known as SeaTac, and has direct and nonstop service throughout the United States and the northern hemisphere, including daily nonstop flights to/from Europe and Asia. SeaTac is 16 miles from downtown Seattle. Incoming visitors can reach downtown hotels via taxi ($25), Gray Line Airporter bus service to major hotels ($7 one way /$13 round trip, per person), and Shuttle Van Service ($12 one way, per person).

Downtown Seattle is compact, walkable, and pedestrian friendly. Three notable forms of public transportation are available to visitors, in addition to regular bus and taxi services. The new Metro Bus System Underground Tunnel has five stops running from the Convention Center; passengers can ride free at any s top along the bus tunnel. Monorail from Westlake Center in downtown Seattle runs from 10 A.M. to midnight daily. The ride is $1.50 roundtrip and takes 90 seconds. This is an easy and fun way for visitors to reach the Seattle Center grounds, home to the Space Needle, Pacific Science Center, Seattle Opera House, and numerous other attractions. The Waterfront Trolley runs the length of the downtown Seattle waterfront, through historic Pioneer Square near the Kingdome. Passengers buy a ticket for $1, which entitles them to on-and-off privileges anywhere along the route. It is an easy way to cover a lot of territory among several of Seattle's chief visitor attractions.

General Information

Group Meetings and Reunions. Societies and groups that have not already made arrangements to hold sessions or other meetings should send their requests for room space as soon as possible to Sharon K Tune, Convention Director, AHA, 400 A St., SE, Washington, DC 20003. Please specify preferred date, inclusive hours, attendance forecast, and any special equipment desired.

Business Meeting. Resolutions for the business meeting signed by 25 members of the Association will be accepted until December 15; those received by November 1 will take precedence and will be published in the December Perspectives and must be no more than 300 words in length. Resolutions should be sent to the Executive Director at the AHA office, with a copy to the Parliamentarian, :Michael Les Benedict, 106 Dulles Hall, Ohio State University, 230 W. 17th Avenue, Columbus, OH 43210.

At its meeting on May 15-16, 1980, the Council adopted the following bylaw pursuant to Article VII, Section 14, of the constitution: There shall be a quorum for the annual meeting of one hundred members in good standing.

Location. AHA sessions will be held at the Convention Center and the Sheraton and Westin hotels. The Local Arrangements Committee office and Press Room will be in the Convention Center's Room 201 and the AHA Headquarters/Staff Office in the Convention Center's Room 202. The Job Register will be located in the Convention Center Ballroom 6E. Hours of operation will be January 8 from 2 to 6 P.M., January 9 and 10 from 9 A.M. to 6 P.M., and January 11 from 9 A.M. to noon. Registration desks and meal ticket cashiers will be located in the Sixth Floor Meeting Room Lobby. The Book Exhibit will occupy the Ballroom 6 A-C (next door to the job Register) on the same floor as AHA registration and will be open January 8 from 3 to 7 P.M., January 9 and 10 from 9 A.M. to 6 P.M., and on January 11 from 9 A.M. to noon.

AHA Registration

Advance Registration. Members are urged to preregister at the reduced rate of $55 (nonmembers $75; students and unemployed $35; precollegiate teachers $10). The meeting preregistration form will be in the October Perspectives. Advance registration must be received by December 1.

Registration at the Meeting. The registration desks at the annual meeting, located in the Sixth Floor Meeting Room Lobby will be open from noon to 7 P.M. on January 8, from 8 A.M. to 6 P.M. on January 9, and from 8:30 A.M. to 4 P.M. on January 10. Registration at the meeting will be $70 (nonmembers $90; students and unemployed $35; precollegiate teachers $10).

To assure that costs for the meeting are defrayed, admission to sessions, the Book Exhibit, and the Job Register requires an AHA Registration Badge. Since the Association incurs all costs for planning and setup, badges from affiliated societies cannot be accepted for admission.

Refund Policy. Advance registrants who are unable to attend the convention may request a full refund of their registration fee if a written request accompanied by the meeting badge is postmarked by/on December 20, 1997. No refunds will be issued for requests postmarked after December 20, 1997.