The new Congress and new White House have begun signaling dramatic cuts they intend for federal agencies, programs, and policies that will affect the work of history organizations and historians for years to come. The Trump team has already indicated it is considering the elimination of the National Endowment for the Humanities.
AASLH urges its members to advocate for NEH and other federal agencies supporting the work of history organizations. We stand with our colleagues at the National Humanities Alliance, the American Alliance of Museums, and the National Coalition for History.
Here are steps you can take.
Sincerely,
John Dichtl
President & CEO
AASLH
Speak Up for the NEH: The Hill reported late last week that the White House’s proposed cuts include privatizing the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and completely eliminating the National Endowment for the Arts and National Endowment for the Humanities. Please take a minute right now to contact your senators and President Trump and remind them of the importance of the NEH here.
Action steps from AAM: Tools and tactics from AAM for museum advocacy at the start of the new administration.
Contact your Representative (today, by email) and ask them to join the Congressional History Caucus. It was founded by Congressmen John Larson (DCT), Tom Cole (ROK), Ander Crenshaw (RFL), and Bill Pascrell (DNJ) with the help of the National Coalition for History, a group which includes the AASLH. The caucus provides a forum for members of Congress to share their interest in history and to promote an awareness of the subject on Capitol Hill.
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In Other News:
Participate in the National Museum Salary Survey: This important survey reopened yesterday, and will be open until February 3:
History No Longer Subject to IRBs: On January 19 the federal government released the final federal rules for Institutional Review Boards (IRBs), which “explicitly removes” oral history and journalism from the regulations. The historical community, collaborating through the National Coalition for History, has long argued that scholarly history projects should not be subject to standard IRB procedures since they are designed for the research practices of the sciences. The new rule goes into effect January 19, 2018.
There will be an #AASLHchat on Twitter at 7:30pm cdt tomorrow, January 24. More info here.
The SAA is offering two $5,000 scholarships to minority students pursuing archival careers:
40+ public history and museum internships are listed on the AASLH Career Center, where AASLH institutional members can post their internships for free: http://ow.ly/6GEK308gGTm
Believing in Community Outreach: A Lesson in Shared Authority: http://ow.ly/tzO3308gNXz
Museums Across the World Are Collecting Women’s March Signs: ow.ly/otlb308gjUU
52 AASLH Members Receive Over $2 Million in NEH Grants: http://ow.ly/WuMH308gO7a