Readers of the March issue of Perspectives on History, available now online and making its way to AHA members via the postal service, will encounter a history PhD in the world of value at risk footnotes, learn what happens at the consumption junction, discover the secrets of self-destructing social media, and find out why Caribbean history matters.

Jan Goldstein, president of the AHA, serves up “A Slice of American Academic Life, Suzhou-Style,” and James Grossman, AHA executive director, calculates the consequences of “The Zero-Sum Rhetoric of Higher Ed Reform.” Meanwhile, Julia Brookins reports on “The Value and Values of a Liberal Education” from the AAC&U meeting, and Allen Mikaelian finds a big mixed bag in the latest data from the federal government on the history BA.

The Advocacy section of the magazine includes the AHA’s response to the destruction of archives in El Salvador, and Lee White of the National Coalition for History explains the latest efforts to reform how presidential records are handled. Two surprising things happened here: the House of Representatives passed a bill, and they passed it 420-0. But despite that consensus, this major reform, which would greatly improve public access to presidential records, may not make it out of the Senate.

There’s much more—on careers, making the PhD malleable, and the Atlantic world—and it’s all available online now.

This post first appeared on AHA Today.