Resources for Educators & Students
The AHA strives to ensure that every
K–12 student has access to high quality history instruction. We create resources for the classroom, advise on state and federal policy, and advocate for the vital importance of history in public education.
Teaching and learning are at the foundation of the AHA’s mission to promote historical thinking in public life. What do students learn in undergraduate history courses? How and why are history majors so successful in a variety of careers?
Many historians will pursue graduate training at some stage in their career. To meet the needs of both students and graduate programs, the AHA creates resources, provides platforms, and convenes conversations about student success from application to completion.
For Academic Departments
History department chairs are on the front lines of the discipline, defending historians’ work and supporting their professional lives at all stages of their academic careers. The AHA strives to strengthen this work and provide resources and opportunities that make chairs’ work easier and valued. The AHA provides resources and hosts a variety of events and opportunities to benefit department chairs and build community, including webinars, sessions at the annual meeting, and an in-person workshop.
Regional Conferences on Introductory History Courses
What do students learn in introductory history courses? How can historical thinking support student learning and success across the curriculum? Our regional conferences endeavor to strengthen the community of practice focused on introductory history courses, both in secondary and higher education.
AHA25 in New York City
We hope to see you at the 138th annual meeting of the AHA, which will take place from Friday to Monday, January 3–6, 2025, in New York City. Since 1884, the American Historical Association annual meeting has been the premier gathering for historians to come together to share research and professional development, to learn about the discipline, and to network with other scholars from across the world. Whatever your career stage or path, there is a place for you at our annual meeting.
Current Events in Historical Context
History, the Past, and Public Culture: Results from a National Survey
This project aspired to take America’s historical pulse by assessing public perceptions of, and engagement with, the discipline of history and the past. The AHA partnered with Fairleigh Dickinson University to develop and implement a national survey that explored the public’s definition of the term “history,” where audiences access history.
The History of Racism and Racist Violence
In response to ongoing racist violence in the United States, we have compiled a list of AHA resources on the history of racism and racist violence. Teachers can use them in classrooms to help students understand the history of the present; journalists can draw on them to provide historical context for current events; researchers can draw on them to inform future scholarship.
A Bibliography of Historians' Responses to COVID-19
In the wake of the Charlottesville tragedy in 2017, historians across the country provided important historical context and insight to the public. The AHA compiled statements that our members, fellow historical societies, AHA Council members, and staff have made in op-eds, interviews, and other media conversations about the importance of historical thinking and knowledge within the current debate.
AHA Resource Library
September 7, 2024
Travel and Trade in Later Medieval Africa
September 7, 2024
Numismatics: Coins, East Africa, and Religious Exchange
September 6, 2024
Sacred Cloth: Silk in Medieval Western Europe
#AHRSyllabus
The #AHRSyllabus is a collaborative project designed to help teachers and students look "under the hood" at how historians in the early 21st century do the work of history. Each contribution to the syllabus features a practical hands-on teaching module that foregrounds innovative uses of historical method in the classroom.
Teaching How Official History Is Made: State Standards as Primary Sources
AHA Historical Collections
The AHA has made primary sources available for research purposes, along with AHA archival reports and documents.
Vetted Resources
Vetted Resources compiles in a central location materials and tools that have been professionally vetted by historians, offering instructors access to high-quality materials that meet professional standards
Standards & Guidelines for the Discipline
June 9, 2024