Signatures Needed for House NEH Dear Colleague Letter - March 25, 2009
Our friends at the National Humanities Alliance report that the co-chairs of the Congressional Humanities Caucus, Rep. David Price (D-NC) and Rep. Thomas Petri (R-WI), have prepared a Dear Colleague letter in support of $230 million for the National Endowment for the Humanities in fiscal year 2010…
Advocating for History and the Humanities - February 04, 2009
By Robert B. Townsend
The National Humanities Alliance has extended its deadline to register for the 2009 Conference and Humanities Advocacy Day to this Friday (February 6). This annual event in Washington D.C. (held this year on March 10-11) brings together leaders and faculty in higher education, teachers, and others working in a wide range of humanities-related employment to promote our interests on Capitol Hill.
Article By: Robert B. Townsend
AHA Letter to Russian President Dmitrii Medvedev Concerning Raid on Human Rights Organization - December 18, 2008
AHA president Gabrielle Spiegel and executive director Arnita Jones sent a letter (PDF) yesterday to Russian Federation president Dmitrii Medvedev, expressing on behalf of the American Historical Association concern over the violent raid on the offices the Russian human rights organization Memorial on December 4, 2008.
Historians Speak Out Against Proposed Walmart at Wilderness Civil War Battlefield - December 11, 2008
By Lee White, Executive Director of the National Coalition for History
On December 11, in a letter to Walmart President and CEO Lee Scott, 253 historians from throughout the country urged the retail giant to reconsider plans to build a 138,000 square-foot supercenter immediately adjacent to the Wilderness Battlefield in Orange County, VA.
Article By: Lee White, Executive Director of the National Coalition for History
Release of the Brothman/Moskowitz Grand Jury Records - October 29, 2008
By Elisabeth Grant
Last Friday, October 24, the government released the Brothman/Moskowitz grand jury records through the National Archives web site. This is the latest development in the release of the Julius and Ethel Rosenberg case court records, which the AHA helped petition for.
Article By: Elisabeth Grant
Cheney Ordered to Preserve Records - September 20, 2008
By Robert B. Townsend
This afternoon U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly ordered the office of vice president Dick Cheney to preserve all records related to his office and the performance of his duties, pending further review.
AHA Part of Lawsuit to Preserve the Records of Vice President Cheney - September 10, 2008
By Robert B. Townsend
The AHA is joining Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, Stanley Kutler, Martin Sherwin, the Organization of American Historians, and the Society of American Archivists, in a lawsuit seeking to force the office of the vice president to preserve the records of his office through the coming transition in administrations.
Article by: Robert B. Townsend
Press Briefing on Release of Rosenberg Grand Jury Testimony - September 10, 2008
By Elisabeth Grant
Tomorrow, Thursday September 11, 2008 a press briefing will be held at The George Washington University Gelman Library on the release of the grand jury testimony from the trial of Ethel and Julius Rosenberg. The AHA was part of the petition, in January of this year, to have these files released, along with the National Security Archive, the American Society for Legal History, the Organization of American Historians, the Society of American Archivists, and New York Times reporter Sam Roberts…
Article by: Elisabeth Grant
Judge Releases Most of Rosenberg Testimony - September 01, 2008
By Robert B. Townsend
In a ruling issued August 26th, U.S. District Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein ordered the release of most of the grand jury testimony from the case of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, and a related case against Abraham Brothman and Miriam Moskowitz…
Humanities Advocacy Day and the NHA Conference - March 10, 2008
By Debbie Ann Doyle
On March 3 and 4, 145 members of the humanities community, including college professors, museum professionals, librarians, archivists, and independent scholars, gathered in Washington, D.C. for the 2008 National Conference of the National Humanities Alliance (NHA), of which the AHA is a member. The highlight of the conference was the ninth annual Humanities Advocacy Day.
AHA Objects to Destruction of Guantanamo Records - February 20, 2008
By Robert B. Townsend
In letters sent to federal authorities, the American Historical Association objected to recent disclosures that the Central Intelligence Agency destroyed records from interrogations of individuals suspected of terrorism, and requested action to prevent further loss.
Advocating for History - January 04, 2008
By Elisabeth Grant
Among the dozens of Annual Meeting sessions held yesterday was a unique panel on “Historians, Advocacy, and Public Policy .” This session, highlighted in yesterday’s morning overview, focused on a topic that many historians don’t pay much attention to: advocacy.
Update: Federal Funding for National History Day - October 26, 2007
By David Darlington
Updating a story from earlier this week, Senators Norm Coleman (R-HI) and Daniel Akaka (D-HI) have declined to bring to the floor for a vote their amendment (S.AMDT.3364), submitted last Thursday, which would have set aside $2 million in federal funds for “activities related to” National History Day.
Federal Judge Invalidates Order Allowing Former Presidents to Withhold Records - October 02, 2007
By Lee White, Executive Director of the National Coalition for History
On October 1, a federal district court judge gave historians and researchers a partial, but significant victory in a lawsuit questioning the legality of President George W. Bush’s Executive Order (EO) 13233, which broadened the rights of presidents and former-presidents to withhold federal records from the public.
New Petition Against Florida's Definition of History - March 30, 2007
By Noralee Frankel
Florida’s A++ Plan, an educational directive passed by the Florida state legislature in 2006, mandates that “American history shall be viewed as factual, not as constructed, shall be viewed as knowable, teachable, and testable, and shall be defined as the creation of a new nation based largely on the universal principles stated in the Declaration of Independence”. An electronic petition drive is underway to amend the mandate.
ALERT—Tell Congress to Restore Access to Presidential Records - March 09, 2007
On March 8 the House Oversight Committee unanimously approved the “Presidential Records Act Amendments of 2007.” The bill is expected to go to the House floor the week of March 12. Please tell your congressional representatives your thoughts on this bill.
Sprawling Over History - February 08, 2007
By Andrew Bell
The U.S. Bureau of the Census recently reported that there are now more than 300 million Americans consuming food, land, water, and other natural resources at an incredible rate. Unfortunately, one of the first casualties of our seemingly insatiable appetites may be our history…
Blogging the IRB - January 12, 2007
By Robert Townsend
Members who are troubled about the growing intrusion of Institutional Review Boards over oral history will want to take a look at Institutional Review Blog, just started by Zachary Schrag at George Mason University.
Letter to Mayor Shirley Franklin of Atlanta - January 10, 2007
By Elisabeth Grant
In a letter to Mayor Shirley Franklin of Atlanta, Georgia, AHA President Barbara Weinstein, Past President Linda K. Kerber, and Executive Director Arnita A. Jones, expressed the AHA Council’s concern over an incident between historian Felipe Fernández-Armesto and an Atlanta police officer, that began with jaywalking and escalated to an 8 hour ordeal in jail.
A New Voice for History in Washington - December 22, 2006
By Robert Townsend
Leland White, the new Director of the National Coalition for History, just posted his first report over at History News Network.
More Sunshine for the Smithsonian - December 20, 2006
By Robert Townsend
In bureaucratic terms, a new report from the federal Government Accountability Office (GAO) offers a fairly damning critique of the way the Smithsonian Institution implemented its contract with the Showtime Network and provided information to the general public.
EPA Economies Put Documents on Endangered Species List - December 13, 2006
By Andrew Bell
A cost-cutting move by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to shut down its national network of scientific libraries, possibly destroying thousands of pages of agency documents in the process, has raised the hackles of four key Democrats elected to the 110th Congress.
Clarifying the Clarifications - December 12, 2006
By Robert Townsend
Michael Carome has once again “clarified” the federal Office of Human Research Protection’s position on oral history. According to a blog posting by Jeffrey Cohen (“an independent consultant in human research protections”), Carome reiterated his medically themed clarification of two years ago at recent PRIM&R conference of regulators. Unfortunately, it is hard to discern where Carome’s clarifications end and Cohen’s opinions begin in the blog posting.
Sunshine for Smithsonian/Showtime - November 21, 2006
By Robert Townsend
The Smithsonian Institution is trying to sweep its secret contract with Showtime under a Congressional rug, according to Carl Malamud at the Center for American Progress. Malamud reports that “Smithsonian lobbyists are trying to paper over their exclusive 30-year sellout to Showtime, saying that the contract has posed no problems and nobody seems to be upset about it anymore.”
The National Coalition for History Reacts to the Recent Election - November 09, 2006
By Elisabeth Grant
Bruce Craig, Director of the National Coalition for History, forecasts the effects of a Democrat controlled House of Representatives on history and archives in his most recent NCH Washington Update.
Debating the Need for IRBs – A Chronicle Colloquy - November 09, 2006
By Elisabeth Grant
Yesterday the AHA’s own Robert Townsend, assistant director for research and publications, lead a live online discussion on the need (or lack there of) for institutional review boards in oral history.
Oral History and IRBs - November 06, 2006
By Robert Townsend
Students, and their advisors, working on the history of the 20th century should take a look at the article on “Oral History Under Review” in this week’s Chronicle of Higher Education. The Association is on record as objecting to the often arbitrary application of IRB rules, which use criteria that seem wholly inappropriate to our field. The report documents a number of troubling cases that reinforce those concerns.
The Problem with IRBs - October 12, 2006
By Robert B. Townsend
Anyone concerned about the extension of Institutional Review Board (IRB) oversight into humanities and social science research will want to read The American Association of University Professors new report on “Research on Human Subjects: Academic Freedom and the Institutional Review Board.” As the report details, the IRBs exercise virtually unchecked power, make up standards and criteria as they go along, and typically fail to provide any means of appealing their decisions.