In the news this week, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences Fellows for 2011 include three former AHA presidents and a current AHA Council member. Also in the news, George Mason’s Center for History and New Media has been renamed after Roy Rosenzweig. We then link to articles on historians’ thoughts on the federal budget (hearing from Jill Lepore and Richard White), an Australian who studies African American history, a look at what makes a web resource useful to researchers, and history on Twitter. Also, get ready for summer with recommended reading, new books in history, and NPR’s book reviews. Finally, browse images of 90 Years of African American History in D.C., and “atomic gardening” in the 1960s.

News

• 2011 American Academy of Arts and Sciences Fellows
  The list of new inductees (PDF) to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences includes three former presidents of the AHA, Gabrielle Spiegel, Wm. Roger Louis, and Barbara Weinstein, as well as current AHA Council member Thomas J. Sugrue.
• Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media
  George Mason University’s Center for History and New Media reports that after a successful fundraising effort, the Center will be renamed for its founder (and former AHA Vice President) Roy Rosenzweig.

Insights

• Two Historians and the Federal Budget
  As we noted on the AHA home page and blog earlier this week, the New York Times for Sunday, April 24, carries several stories of interest to historians. We draw particular attention to the editorial pages, where two of our colleagues have entered the conversation on the federal budget. Jill Lepore and Richard White draw on their historical research to offer perspectives on current debates. One criticizes proposed cuts to education and family planning. The other argues against subsidies for high-speed rail. As the year goes on, we hope to see more historians follow their example, and that of William Cronon, and enter the public square.



• An Aussie Takes On African American History
  Shane White, an Australian professor of American history, recounts his experiences as a “foreigner” writing about African Americans and the reactions he’s gotten from both colleagues and the general American public. 
• What Humanities Researchers Want
  Europeana Libraries offers a nice summary of what humanities researchers want from "a good web resource," such as making it easy to use (and reuse) and cite.
• History on Twitter
  Naomi Coquillon, education specialist at the National Museum of American History, discusses her experiences with Twitter and how she values it most as a tool for finding new history articles and resources, rather as a place of discussion.

Books

• Recommended Reading
  Just in time for summer, and time by the pool, EDSITEment has put together a recommended reading list for students who will be soon off to college. Though, a number of these selections are worth revisiting at any age and situation.
• New Books in History
  John Fea has his eye on some new history books he wants to read, which he’ll pick up right after he finishes reading those history books he has to read.
• What NPR is Reading
  NPR also has a weekly “What We’re Reading” series, featuring a wide variety of fiction and nonfiction books.

Photographs

• 90 Years of African American History in Washington, D.C. through Pictures
  TheSmithsonian Collections Blog highlights their collection of photographs from the Scurlock Photography Studio, which opened in D.C. in 1904 and represents “ninety years of African American history.”
• Atomic Gardening
  The Edible Geography blog presents images from the 1960s and explains the history of “atomic gardening,” or using radiation to cause mutations in food.

Contributors: Jim Grossman, Elisabeth Grant, and Robert B. Townsend

This post first appeared on AHA Today.