The January 2010 issue of Perspectives on History begins with new AHA president Barbara D. Metcalf’s inaugural “From the President” article: “Doing History for Life.” In it she considers how one continues doing history after retirement.  She looks to examples of historians who’ve gone on to study in new fields, teach to new types of students, travel to new locations, or take up new roles (like the president of a certain historical association).

History Job Market
The state of the history job market was a popular, though not always positive, topic at the recent 124th Annual Meeting. Read two articles from Robert B. Townsend on the job market and history PhDs.

• A Grim Year on the Academic Job Market for Historians
• History PhDs Grow in Number and Diversity in 2007–08

AHA News
In AHA News, even as the new council members are announced, we’re gearing up for the next election. And speaking of looking ahead, make sure to submit your proposal for the 125th annual meeting (deadline February 15, 2010). In this issue we also recognize the generosity of the 2009 contributing members, and consider a new online project: a “History Syllabus Wiki.”

From the NCH and the NHC
We hear from both the National Coalition for History (NCH) and the National History Center (NHC) this month. From the NCH: the “Obama Administration Issues Sweeping Open Government Directive” and other news briefs. And from the NHC, news that they’ve received $1.457 million from the Mellon Foundation and are working on a new seminar series.

More Articles
Three more articles cover the topics of economic history, Teaching American History grants, and ethics for historians:

• The Audacity of Hope: Economic History Today
  By Peter A. Coclanis
• Happy Notes on TAH and Faculty Evaluation Blues
  By Edward R. Crowther
• Ethics for Historians: The Perspective of One Undergraduate Class
  By Catherine Denial (with contributions by Devin Harvie)

Letters to the Editor and In Memoriam
Finally, the January issue wraps up with one letter to the editor on the importance of learning a language and Edmund Clingan’s remembrance of Jo Ann Kay McNamara.

This post first appeared on AHA Today.