To begin this week, check out an article by Stan Katz on faculty productivity, learn about a recent workshop on environmental history, read a review of five new books on the Civil War, and discover a 12th-century murder mystery. Then, listen to an interview with historian Gordon Wood, consider a position as a producer of the Backstory podcast, find inspiration in National History Day, and teach the 4th of July. Finally, check out 4Humanities, Charles Darwin’s digitized library, arctic explorers, new online image galleries from the Freer|Sackler museums, and a new restaurant named after Abraham Lincoln.

News

• How to Justify Our Paychecks
  Stan Katz, former vice president of the AHA’s Research Division, discusses faculty productivity and compensation in this article at The Chronicle.
• National History Center: Environmental History and Decolonization
  A recent workshop, co-sponsored by the National History Center, brought together historians from around the world to discuss “opportunities and needs in environmental history.” In other news from the NHC, British historian John Darwin will be lecturing on Decolonization as a History of Failure on July 13 at 4 p.m.
• New Books on the Civil War
  In a review essay, "What Drove the Terrible War," published in the July 14, 2011, issue of the New York Review of Books, former AHA President James McPherson takes a look at a clutch of five new books on the Civil War.
• Grisly Discovery in England
  Skeletons from the 12th or 13th centuries, found in a well in England in 2004, have gone through recent analysis. Researchers believe they’re all from a Jewish family and could possibly have been the victims of persecution.

Radio

• Interview with Historian Gordon Wood
  NPR’s Diane Rehm interviews historian Gordon Wood about the American Revolution.
• Hiring Associate Producers for History Podcast
  The Backstory with the American History Guys podcast is hiring three associate producers to help them turn their monthly program into a weekly one.

Research & Teaching

• National History Day Inspires Connections
  A Decorah, Iowa, 8th grader’s National History Day project led him to reach out to a retired Navy captain, a Pentagon official, and others to learn about a 1975 Navy rescue mission in Vietnam.
• Teaching the 4th of July
  EDSITEment offers a collection of July 4th lesson plans to teach about protest, revolution, and independence.

Digital History

• 4Humanities
  4Humanities is a new “platform and a resource for humanities advocacy.” It offers humanities advocacy news, resources, best practices, and more.
• Darwin Library Digitized
  A boon for the history of science, The Chronicle reports that some 330 of the books from Charles Darwin’s library are now available online. In many cases the books include Darwin’s handwritten marginalia. 
• Arctic Exploration
  Learn about the arctic explorers who hailed from Chester County, Pennsylvania, andexamine artifacts from their adventures at the Chilling Reality site.
• Freer|Sackler Image Galleries
  The Freer|Sackler museums of Asian art have redesigned their online image galleries.

Fun

• New Lincoln Restaurant
  Restaurant proprietor Alan Popovsky did some research on the 16th president before opening and naming his restaurant “Lincoln.” One such tidbit was that even though Lincoln wasn’t much of a drinker, he did like champagne.

Contributors: Miriam Cunningham, Debbie Ann Doyle, Elisabeth Grant, Jim Grossman, Vernon Horn,and Pillarisetti Sudhir

This post first appeared on AHA Today.