AHA Meeting

The American Historical Association is holding its annual meeting today through the ninth in Seattle, Washington. I'm not attending this year, but will probably go to next year's meeting in Philadelphia. You can view the list of papers being presented here. Many of the sessions deal with inside stuff -- jobs, promotions, standards of scholarship, the role of women and minorities in the profession, sources of funding for grad students, etc. -- but there are reports on a wide range of specialized research that might be of more general interest. Check it out!

I usually view these session programs as an broad overview of the evolving state of the profession. The unholy trinity of race, class and gender still reigns supreme, at least at the AHA. A decided majority of the papers deal with these themes. There seems to be less enthusiasm for "transnationalism" and environmental history than there was a few years ago although both are represented. The search for radical themes in the history of women and minorities goes on, and on, and on.... A dismayingly large proportion of the presenters have not yet abandoned the "literary turn." Identity and its construction are still major concerns. Not surprisingly, imperialism and religion are the subject of several papers. Surprisingly few focus specifically on the perceived sins of the Bush administration. Only one session deals with the recent spate of scandals within the profession. One lonely session treats the eclipse of ethnic, as opposed to racial, studies.

Am I encouraged by what I see? Not really. Academic history, as represented by the AHA, continues to drift along on the margins of American society and culture. It continues to be a self-contained and self-referential community that holds itself at a critical distance from the mainstream. Meanwhile popular history, much of it produced by people from the journalistic and communications industries, flourishes. New organizations like the History Society are burgeoning. Individual scholars are doing really exciting work. History, broadly practiced, is a vital and important element of modern American life. It speaks to the lives and experiences of all Americans. But the AHA goes on and on and on adrift in its own little world.Sigh!