Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History: History Now: American Reform Movements

We've learned that the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History has released a new edition of History Now, a quarterly online journal for history teachers and students.

In this issue, six leading scholars illustrate how the desire to reform has influenced nearly every facet of American society, from Transcendentalism to Woman Suffrage:

Transcendentalism and Social Reform, by Philip F. Gura.

Education Reform in Antebellum America, by Barbara Winslow.

Sylvester Graham and Antebellum Diet Reform, by Cindy R. Lobel.

Women and the Progressive Movement, by Miriam Cohen.

Modern Women Persuading Modern Men: The Nineteenth Amendment and the Movement for Woman Suffrage, 1916-1920, by Jonathan Soffer.

The Transnational Nature of the Progressive Movement, by Daniel T. Rodgers.

The Institute web site also features a number of related podcasts, for example, this one with Blair Ruble delivered at New York University in 2010.

Call for Papers: Social Science History Association (SSHA) meeting, Vancouver, Canada, November 1-4, 2012.

Call for Papers: Social Science History Association (SSHA) meeting, Vancouver, Canada, November 1-4, 2012.

Its theme this year is "Histories of Capitalism." They explicitly want to draw on an interdisciplinary group of scholars who hail from different institutions.

Deadline for abstracts: March 1, 2012.

The 2012 Program Committee seeks panel proposals that focus on Histories of Capitalism. But it also encourages, as usual, papers and panels on all aspects of social science history.

Dramatic developments in the contemporary world – including the current world economic crisis; the rapid economic growth of China; the shocking rise of income inequality in the United States, or the looming danger of climate change – argue strongly for putting the history of capitalism at the center of our agenda in social science history. These contemporary developments point to capitalism’s enduring enigma: it promises the utopian possibility of overcoming material want but creates barriers, inequalities, and dystopian disasters en route.

Features or aspects of capitalism often figure as causes or effects in studies of a wide range of topics close to the heart of social science historians: urbanization, labor struggles, cultural change, the demographic transition, gender and racial inequalities, migration, agrarian movements, or economic growth, to cite a few key examples. Yet capitalism usually figures as a context – either avowed or unavowed – of the phenomena we are attempting to grasp. Only occasionally do we reflect explicitly about the specific dynamics of capitalism as an evolving system or about how these dynamics shape possibilities for social and political action.

As the plural ‘histories’ in our theme’s title affirms, there are various kinds of histories of capitalism: macro and micro histories; Marxian, neo-classical, Weberian, Schumpeterian, Polanyian, and neo-institutionalist histories; cultural, economic, political, and social histories; histories informed by anthropology, political science, literature, geography, economics, sociology, philosophy, and of course history itself; histories of capitalism’s fundamental movements and of its manifold effects. Perhaps new histories will emerge at these meetings…

The Social Science History Association, with its rich tradition of interdisciplinary research, is an ideal forum for exploring all aspects of the history of capitalism both as an enduring intellectual problem and as a burning issue of contemporary politics and culture.

Concord Review: Special Women's History Edition Published

Will Fitzhugh, founder of The Concord Review, writes:

"I have assembled a special issue of history research papers on women's history by secondary students published over several years in The Concord Review. They range over women's history topics from Canada, China, India, Mexico, and of course, the United States. The authors came from Alberta, Arkansas, California, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, South Carolina, and Washington State.

"These are among the best history papers we have ever published. Of course, your purchase from Amazon will help us to keep offering this unique opportunity to diligent high school students of history, but I also really hope you like the papers, and I would love to hear from you if you do."

Click this link to the Amazon site.

The Concord Review, Inc., was founded in March 1987 to recognize and to publish exemplary history essays by high school students in the English-speaking world.

With the Winter 2011 issue (#89), 978 research papers (average 5,500 words, with endnotes and bibliography) have been published from authors in forty-six states and thirty-eight other countries. The Concord Review remains the only quarterly journal in the world to publish the academic work of secondary students.

NOMINATE A 7-12 TEACHER TO WIN THE $10,000 NATIONAL HISTORY TEACHER OF THE YEAR AWARD

Do you know an outstanding teacher passionate about American history? The Gilder Lehrman Institute is seeking nominees for the National History Teacher of the Year Award.

All full-time educators who teach American history are eligible.

The Nomination Deadline for the 2012 award, honoring middle and high school teachers, is February 1, 2012.

To Nominate:

• Submit the name and email of an outstanding teacher.

• Nominations of K–12 teachers are accepted throughout the year

• Nominations can be made by a student, parent, colleague, principal or school administrator familiar with the teacher's work.

To nominate a teacher and learn more about the award, visit National History Teacher of the Year Award

The award is sponsored by the Gilder Lehrman Institute, Preserve America, and HISTORY®.

One winner will be chosen from each of the fifty states, the District of Columbia, US Territories, and Department of Defense schools. These winners will be considered for the national award.

Contact the National History Teacher of the Year coordinator at nhtoy@gilderlehrman.org or via phone at 646-366-9666 x28.

NCHE: South Carolina and the Civil Rights Struggle Conference

We've received news that the National Council for History Education, South Carolina State University, and Richland School District Two will be presenting, "South Carolina and the Civil Rights Struggle Conference."

It is scheduled for February 23-24, 2012.

Registration is only $40.

To learn more about this event go to this web link today.

Martin Luther King, Jr., Holiday

The annual Martin Luther King, Jr., holiday will be commemorated this coming Monday, January 16.

History Education Hawaii will be closed for the holiday and reopen on Tuesday, January 17.

Annual Hawaii We the People State Competition 2012

History Education Hawaii has heard that a We the People State Competition is scheduled to be held on Saturday morning, February 4, 2012 at the First Circuit Court in Honolulu.

State Coordinator Sandra Cashman wrote, "Although the Center for Civic Education lost its funding for this year due to federal budget constraints, I'm still serving as the State Coordinator for We the People."

She is working with Executive Director Matt Mattice and Education Specialist Keahe Davis at the King Kamehameha V Judiciary History Center at Aliiolani Hale.

"The Center is working to restore funding in the future," writes Sandra, "and meanwhile most of the state programs are carrying on to the best of their abilities."

The Center is hosting a national final from April 27 to 30 at George Mason University. However, there will be no financial support for attending teams.

Judges are needed for the Hawaii state competition. If you're able to do so, please contact Sandra Cashman.