Catch up on recent AHA news, learn about public support of the humanities, read up on recent prizewinners, and discover a variety of topics on the history profession in the April issue of Perspectives on History, now online.

News
The biggest news in this month’s Perspectives on History is the announcement that James Grossman is to be the AHA’s new executive director, following Arnita Jones’ retirement in August.  “Grossman’s goals for the AHA include enhancing the role of historians in public culture, collaborating with counterparts in other scholarly associations to explore new opportunities opened by innovations in digital communication, and maintaining the AHA’s strong advocacy voice on open access and issues of importance to historians.”

In other news, nominations are in for the 2010 AHA election. Review the candidates for president-elect, Professional Division vice president, Council/Division positions, and Committee positions. Nominations may also be made by petition (see full terms at the bottom of this page).

The April issue of the AHR is out, with “articles on the physicality of Martin Luther and on suicide in colonial Africa, and an AHR Forum on aspects of political culture in South Asia.”  Also, the AHA is adopting a new association management system and members can now create interest groups.

Supporting the Humanities
AHA President Barbara D. Metcalf considers the importance of public support and federal funding in her own education and career as well as for others in the history profession in her article, “Fiat Lux: Public Funding and the Humanities.”

Meanwhile, Debbie Ann Doyle, the AHA’s administrative manager and Public History Coordinator reports on Humanities Advocacy Day 2010 while Lee White of the National Coalition for History provides Status Reports on Transparency in the Federal Government.

Awards
We report on a number of prizewinners this month: the Bancroft prizewinners, the National Humanities Medals recipients, and the Holberg Prize awarded to Natalie Zemon Davis.

History Profession
A variety of topics in the history profession are tackled this month, with Gordon Wood defending academic history writing, John H. Ball offering personal observations from teaching at a community college, Eugenia Russell discussing Byzantine Studies methodologies, and Brett Barrett offering advice on applying for foreign jobs. Also learn about Disability History at 124th Annual Meeting this past January.

More
Finally, read a letter to the editor, “Beyond Pluralism,” and remember three historians in the “In Memoriam” column:  Louis Harlan, Hans L. Trefousse, and Marli F. Weiner.

This post first appeared on AHA Today.