This year saw many changes at Perspectives on History: our website received a top-to-bottom redesign, and we moved to an online-first publishing model. At the same time, we continued with our tradition of bringing to you high-quality news and content about the discipline of history. Enjoy the best of 2018 on Perspectives, and if you like what you read, don’t forget to support us by joining the AHA.

Perspectives on History and Perspectives Daily featured articles on diverse topics in 2018.

Most Read

The History BA since the Great Recession: The 2018 Majors Report | Benjamin M. Schmidt: We wish it weren’t so, but the downward trend in history BAs continues.

Research Clutter: A New App Helps Create Order Out of Disorder | Zoë Jackson | Do something about that mess of photos you took at the archives. Get Tropy.

The AHA Jobs Report: The 2016–17 Data Obscure as Much as They Reveal | Dylan Ruediger | A “history job” doesn’t always mean an “academic job.” And that makes it harder to quantify job opportunities for history PhDs.

Class Warfare: Changes to the AP World History Course | Matt Drwenski and Dave Eaton | World history is more than just the history of the West. Enough said.

Read These before You Put Together Your Next Syllabus

From Learning to Cite to Learning to Write: Using Zotero in the Classroom | Andrea Davis | Think the popular tool is just for citation management? Think again.

Decolonizing the US History Survey: Integrating Native Voices and Experiences through Digital History | John Rosinbum | Indigenous history is US history. Here are some resources that can help you make the connection for your students.

Forum on Class Participation | Having trouble getting your students engaged in the classroom? Four historians share what works for them.

Worried about the Fate of the Humanities? These Stories Will Uplift You

A Resilient Woman | Mary Beth Norton | The AHA’s outgoing president and her mother both became professional academics starting in the late 1960s. But their opportunities differed.

Why I Am a Historian: A Response to Mary Beth Norton | Lillian Guerra | Studying history was never a “choice” for Guerra. “It was a route to social change.”

The Story of the Multigraph Collective | Allison Miller | Not one, not two, but twenty-two scholars from across disciplines came together to create new narratives about book history and print culture.

Dealing with Professional Issues? We’ve Got Your Back

Letters of Rec: An Ancient Genre in Need of a Modern Upgrade | Suzanne Marchand | ’Tis the season for writing letters of recommendation. But what purpose do they really serve, and is it time to reexamine their function?

When a Journal Is a Scam: How Some Publications Prey on Scholarship as Public Good | Debjani Bhattacharyya with Seth Denbo | Have you been stalked by a predatory journal, with email solicitations arriving in the wee hours? So have 80 percent of respondents to an AHA survey.

History 101: What It Is and Why We Need It Now | Paulina L. Alberto and Farina Mir | What’s a good way to introduce students to history that doesn’t involve memorizing facts and dates? Read about History 101 at the University of Michigan.

Most Memorable

Writing the History of Sexual Assault in the Age of #MeToo | Amy Stanley | What would happen if we just believed the women in our sources?

What is Trans History? From Activist and Academic Roots, a Field Takes Shape | Kritika Agarwal | Trans history was once a marginal field of study. Today, it’s vibrant and full of potential. But what is it?

Making Historians in the Archive | Christina Copland | A trip to the archives is never wasted. Even if you don’t find what you’re looking for.