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ABOUT THE WHA

The Western History Association strives to be a congenial home for the study and teaching of all aspects of North American Wests, frontiers, homelands, and borderlands. Our mission is to cultivate the broadest appreciation of this diverse history. To accomplish this mission we: 


Enable collaborations among peoples, institutions, and organizations devoted to the study of western history. 


Conduct an annual conference at which western history teachers, scholars, and professionals share their research and exchange ideas that facilitate further study of the North American West. 


Publish an award-winning journal that employs rigorous peer reviews to identify, improve, and distribute original western history scholarship.


Promote public education on western history through active involvement with teachers, museums, non profit organizations, libraries, and other venues.

2024 CONFERENCE: KANSAS CITY!

WHA 2024 DIGITAL PROGRAM NOW AVAILABLE

The 64th Annual WHA Conference will be hosted at the Westin Kansas City at Crown Center from October 23-26 (Wednesday-Saturday). The 2024 conference will be held concurrently with the Southern Historical Association. 

The 2024 WHA President is Kelly Lytle Hernández, a professor of History, African American Studies, and Urban Planning at UCLA where she holds The Thomas E. Lifka Endowed Chair in History and directs the Ralph J. Bunche Center for African American Studies. One of the nation’s leading experts on race, immigration, and mass incarceration, she is the author of Migra! A History of the U.S. Border Patrol (University of California Press, 2010), City of Inmates: Conquest, Rebellion, and the Rise of Human Caging in Los Angeles  (University of North Carolina Press, 2017), and the book Bad Mexicans: Race, Empire, and Revolution in the Borderlands (Norton, 2022). 

WHA DIVERSITY STATEMENT

The North American West has been both home to many different groups with divergent belief systems and cultural practices, and a place in which people often experience shifting identities. The Western History Association strives to reflect the richness of our regions. We seek to be an association of historians of diverse backgrounds who thrive in the spirit of mutual respect and engaged curiosity.

WHA ACCESSIBILITY STATEMENT

The Western History Association (WHA) is committed to fostering an environment that is inclusive and open to all. It strives to produce a conference that is accessible and provides for maximum participation in all conference events. To that end, our annual conference will aim to meet the needs of all attendees through inclusive design and accommodation.

WHA BEST PRACTICES

In 2019, the WHA Council adopted the best practices established by the Native American and Indigenous Studies Association (NAISA) on matters regarding Indigenous identity fraud. NAISA's most recent Statement on Indigenous Identity Fraud can be found here

WHA CODE OF PROFESSIONAL CONDUCT

The WHA is committed to providing a safe, productive, and welcoming environment for all. The WHA strongly opposes discrimination and harassment in all aspects of academia. Further, the Association encourages informational activities designed to promote the education of its members and the public regarding discrimination and harassment and encourages historians to speak out against such incidents. Simultaneously, the Association opposes efforts to limit academic discourse and free speech on campuses, and it disapproves of the violation of academic freedom. Discrimination and harassment within academe are unethical, unprofessional, and constitute a threat to academic freedom.

The purpose of this Code of Professional Conduct is to ensure a safe, welcoming, and inclusive environment, free of discrimination and harassment, for all members and participants during WHA Events and Activities. To that end, the WHA strictly prohibits discrimination and harassment against members and participants at all WHA Events and Activities, whether based on race, color, sex, religion, national origin, age, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, pregnancy, marital status, or any other status or classification protected by federal, state, or local law.

Any form of discrimination or harassment based on any status or classification protected by federal, state, or local law at WHA Events and Activities is a serious violation of this Code of Professional Conduct and undermines the atmosphere of trust essential to the academic environment. All participants are expected to comply with this Code of Professional Conduct at all WHA Events and Activities. Examples of Unacceptable Behavior include, but are not limited to, sexual harrassment, retaliation, harassment, and discrimination. 

To report an incident, contact the chair or a member of the WHA's Professional Environment Committee. The PEC is listed on the organization's committees page. 


Our members have also formed the Committee on Assault Response and Educational Strategies (CARES).  Learn more about this Standing Committee and the resources it provides to WHA members and conference participants through the WHA-CARES website.


WHA-CARES: LEARN MORE


Western History Association

University of Kansas | History Department

1445 Jayhawk Blvd. | 3650 Wescoe Hall

Lawrence, KS 66045 | 785-864-0860

wha@westernhistory.org 


The WHA is located in the Department of History at the University of Kansas. The WHA is grateful to KU's History Department and the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences for their generous support!