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NEWS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS

The WHA Office often receives notifications about awards, scholarships, fellowships, and events that might be of interest to our members. We are also happy to share the news and accomplishments of individual members and programs.


When our staff receives requests to post news and announcements, you will find them here and on our social media platforms. Please email us if you wish to be included in our news and announcements feed! 

  • Monday, June 15, 2020 9:40 AM | Anonymous member (Administrator)

    Research in the Era of COVID-19: Archives, Libraries, and the Study of the West

    Wednesday, June 17, 2020 

    400-530 PM (EDT)

     

    The current pandemic has transformed the life and work of colleges and universities around the world. Institutions of higher education shifted online; students, faculty, and staff departed campuses; libraries, archives, and special collections closed. Institutions also limited or prohibited faculty, staff, and student travel for conducting or presenting research.

     

    Many of these closures, limitations, and prohibitions remain in place, and the future of research remains uncertain. Consequently, historians face a significant challenge: how to teach and conduct research with restricted movement, limited institutional support, and unpredictable access to libraries, archives, and special collections?

     

    Archivists and librarians active in the Western History Association, with the encouragement of various faculty and graduate students, have undertaken to explore short, medium, and long-term solutions to these challenges, beginning with a free 90-minute webinar on Wednesday, June 17, 2020, to review select tools for facilitating online access to libraries, archives, and special collections critical to the study of the West. 

     

    All interested students of the West are welcome. Registration is limited to 500 persons. Brief presentations will be followed by a question-and-answer period for the audience. The session will be recorded for future reference.

     

    Subsequent webinars, based on expressed and perceived needs, will address discrete subjects of critical importance throughout the summer.

     

    To register in advance for this webinar:

    https://dartmouth.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_b9BLgvPERZiuCbOyKGWj4g

     

    Or an H.323/SIP room system:

        H.323: 

        162.255.37.11 (US West)

        162.255.36.11 (US East)

        115.114.131.7 (India Mumbai)

        115.114.115.7 (India Hyderabad)

        213.19.144.110 (EMEA)

        103.122.166.55 (Australia)

        64.211.144.160 (Brazil)

        69.174.57.160 (Canada)

        207.226.132.110 (Japan)

        Meeting ID: 917 8731 0912

        SIP: 91787310912@zoomcrc.com

     

    After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.

     

    Questions? Contact J. Wendel Cox, Research & Learning Librarian, Dartmouth Library: j.wendel.cox@dartmouth.edu


  • Tuesday, May 19, 2020 7:57 AM | Anonymous member (Administrator)

    Now taking applications for the Davidson Family Fellowship. Visit their website for more details on how to apply: www.cartermuseum.org/research/fellowships


  • Thursday, April 30, 2020 9:37 AM | Anonymous member (Administrator)

    “Connectivity Across Borders: Global Borderlands in Historical & Modern Perspective"

    2nd Biennial Symposium of Texas A&M University-San Antonio's Global Borders &

    Borderlands History Program

    March 26-27, 2021

    San Antonio, Texas

    Call For Papers

    Texas A&M University-San Antonio announces the second biennial symposium of its Global Borders and Borderlands History Program. The two-day symposium will consist of a Friday evening reception followed by a full day of panels on Saturday, with a lunchtime keynote address by historian Juliana Barr.

    Rather than dividing people and cultures, borders and borderlands often have the power to unite those in their midst. Modes of connection include cultural and economic exchange, political and diplomatic cooperation, and patterns of migration. We welcome proposals dealing with the role of borders and borderlands in shaping global narratives of connectivity across time and place. To this interdisciplinary end, we seek submissions from scholars who share a common interest in borders and borderlands as a methodological approach and analytical framework.

    The program committee requests both full panel and individual paper submissions. All submissions are due September 15, 2020 and should be emailed to: william.kiser@tamusa.edu. For individual paper submissions, submit a title and 300-word abstract, along with a 1-page C.V. For full panel submissions, submit a title and 300-word abstract, along with individual paper titles and abstracts, and a 1-page C.V. for each participant. Depending on the submissions received, there is a possibility for the publication of symposium papers in an edited volume with Texas A&M University Press.

    The symposium will take place on the Texas A&M University-San Antonio campus, with the generous support of the Office of the Provost and the Department of Communication, History and Philosophy.


  • Wednesday, January 15, 2020 1:57 PM | Anonymous member (Administrator)

    The J. Franklin Jameson Archival Advocacy Award Subcommittee of the Society of American Archivists invites you to place a nomination for the 2020 J. Franklin Jameson Archival Advocacy Award.

    https://www2.archivists.org/governance/handbook/section12-jameson

    Established in 1989, this award honors an individual, institution, or organization that promotes greater public awareness, appreciation, or support of archival activities or programs.  The individual's or institution's contributions may take the form of advocacy, publicity, legislation, financial support, or a similar action that fosters archival work or raises public consciousness of the importance of archival work.  Contributions should have broad, long-term impact at the regional level or beyond.

    EligibilityNominees must be from outside the archives profession.  Individuals directly involved in archival work, either as paid or volunteer staff, or institutions or organizations directly responsible for an archival program are not eligible for this award.

    Nominations should be sent through the online submission system by February 28, 2020 at https://app.smarterselect.com/programs/45853-Society-Of-American-Archivists.

    Recent Winners Include: 

    2019:  Tempestt Hazel AND The Kitchen Sisters (Davia Nelson and Nikki Silva)

    2018:  Yvonne Lewis Holley AND Brad Meltzer

    2017:  Environmental Data & Governance Initiative (EDGI)

    2016:  Lin-Manuel Miranda and Ron Chernow

    2015:  Adrena Ifill Blagburn

    2014:  LGBT Center of Central PA History Project AND National History Day

    2013:  AARP Virginia and Dr. Warren Stewart

    2012:  Eve Kahn, Bebe Miller, Phillip Stewart

    2011: “Who Do You Think You Are?” (NBC)

    2010:  The Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation


  • Wednesday, January 15, 2020 1:36 PM | Anonymous member (Administrator)

    The Montana Historical Society seeks an energetic and talented person to work as an Associate Editor. If you have a passion for Montana and Western History, this position may be for you! At the Montana Historical Society, we are striving to make our work environment a supportive and engaging place that fosters work/life balance.

    The Associate Editor’s primary responsibilities include 1) copy editing magazine and book manuscripts according to the tenets of scholarly publishing and working with authors to achieve mutually satisfactory publications. This process includes reviewing and correcting manuscripts for spelling, grammar, syntax, punctuation, and in-house style; fact checking; overall consistency and readability; and citation formatting 2) finding and procuring appropriate illustrations for use in magazine articles, books, and other print and digital publication and managing all aspects  of suitability for reproduction, including quality, file size, and permissions 3) helping to maintain organizational systems, including databases, fundraising, grant writing, marketing, and sales 4) conducting historical research, writing, and fact checking  in a variety of historical sources, including archives, databases, and published documents 5) management and editing of book reviews 6) participating in and developing the program’s digital publications and social media program.

    At the Montana Historical Society, our goal is to promote an understanding and appreciation of Montana’s cultural heritage—past, present, and future. Come and be part of the Montana Historical Society!

    Qualifications include a bachelor’s degree in history, journalism, or other related liberal arts field and two years of related experience in magazine or book publishing. Experience in manuscript editing, professional writing, and Western/Montana history strongly preferred.

    Other combinations of education and experience may be considered on a case-by-case basis.

    Additional required documents include cover letter, resumé, and supplemental questions. Cover letter should address how your education, skills, and experiences have prepared you for this position. Job closes February 1, 2020.

    To apply for this position please visit the State of Montana Careers website:

    https://statecareers.mt.gov/


  • Wednesday, January 15, 2020 1:05 PM | Anonymous member (Administrator)

    Have you written or do you know of a work of biography, autobiography, memoir or family history published in the past two years with a significant connection to the Interior West? Submissions for the prestigious biennial Evans Biography Awards ($10,000 cash prize) and the Evans Handcart Award ($2,500 cash prize) are currently being accepted. Books must have a first publishing date of 2018 or 2019 and fit into one of the award criteria for place and genre. Deadline for submission is February 15, 2020. The awards are administered by the Mountain West Center at Utah State University. More information, including award criteria, and submission forms can be found at http://mountainwest.usu.edu/evans/evans-awards_submission or email mwc@usu.edu.

  • Wednesday, December 18, 2019 11:52 AM | Anonymous member (Administrator)

    The State of Utah is searching for a new Director of the Utah Division of State History. We are looking for someone who is well-respected in the professional community, has proven management skills, and who can craft a vision for the future while making the past relevant.

    Our candidate will have strong communication skills (speaking, writing, and one-on-one).

    This person will oversee a division of 29 employees with a $4.1 million budget. We’re looking for someone to provide leadership to the Utah State Historical Society, Library and Collections program, Utah History Day program, and State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) programs. We’re looking for an individual who will contribute meaningfully to the creation of a new State History Museum.

    Serving as the director of State History provides the opportunity to oversee and mentor a professional staff committed to preserving and sharing the story of Utah. A successful director will value historical research and advocate for its advancement.

    State History is part of the Utah Department of Heritage & Arts (DHA). The programs managed and the services provided by DHA represent the heart and soul of Utah. By working with local arts agencies, historical societies, volunteer organizations, local governments, libraries, and museums, as well as with the state’s indigenous and minority groups, the professionals in our department improve communities and the lives of individuals throughout Utah.

    DHA provides a fast-paced, collaborative, and energetic work environment that supports employees in balancing work and home life. We operate from an employee-first philosophy, with a commitment to maintain a safe and empowering work environment that promotes the value of each employee.

    DHA’s executive leadership actively encourages flexible work schedules and teleworking, as well as participation in exercise and mass transit programs.

    To apply send your cover letter and resume to Crystal Haywood at chaywood@utah.gov and apply at
    bit.ly/DirectorOfHistory
     


  • Monday, November 18, 2019 1:08 PM | Anonymous member (Administrator)

    Special Collections of the University of Texas at Arlington Library is pleased to announce an opening for Metadata Librarian. 

    Primary responsibilities include original and copy cataloging of Special Collections maps, books, ephemera, sheet music, and broadsides, etc.; creation and maintenance of MARC records for archival collections for upload to OCLC; and review of encoded finding aids for upload to Texas Archival Resources Online (TARO).  Successful candidate will also lead discussion and training for new cataloging and metadata policy, best practices and workflows. 

    View the job announcement at https://uta.peopleadmin.com/postings/10441

    Special Collections collects and provides access to historical research materials in all formats relating to Texas; the U.S. War with Mexico, 1846-1848; the cartographic history of Texas, the Gulf of Mexico and the Southwest; and the political history of Mexico, 1810-1920.  Our map collection is housed in the Virginia Garrett Cartographic History Library (VGCHL) which was established in 1978.  The VGCHL focuses on five centuries of exploration and mapping of the New World, with particular emphasis on the region of the Gulf Coast, the Caribbean, and the Greater Southwest including Northern Mexico, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and California.  Our growing map collection contains thousands of maps and atlases dating from 1493 to the present and features works of noted cartographers including Waldseemüller, Ortelius, Hondius, Coronelli, DeLisle and more.  We are committed to exceptional research assistance, teaching, outreach and collaborative partnerships that engage our users in a learning environment that fosters creativity, exploration and innovation. 

    Contact Brenda McClurkin, mcclurkin@uta.edu, 817.272.7512, with questions. 


  • Tuesday, November 12, 2019 7:41 AM | Anonymous member (Administrator)

    FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

    November 12, 2019

    The Western History Association honors new President, President-Elect at

    59th Annual Conference


    On October 19 at the 2019 Awards Ceremony in Las Vegas, the Western History Association recognized two distinguished scholars as the future leaders of the organization. Dr. David Wrobel assumed the office of the WHA President, and Dr. Maria Montoya was elected as the next WHA President-Elect.

    Dr. David Wrobel is Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, David L. Boren Professor (2016-) and Merrick Chair of Western American History (2011-) at the University of Oklahoma (OU). His books include America’s West: A History, 1890-1950 (2017); Global West, American Frontier: Travel, Empire and Exceptionalism from Manifest Destiny to the Great Depression (2013); Promised Lands: Promotion, Memory, and the Creation of the American West (2002); and The End of American Exceptionalism: Frontier Anxiety from the Old West to the New Deal (1993). He is working on a “John Steinbeck’s America: A Cultural History, 1930-1968,” and serves as Visiting Scholar for the National Steinbeck Center (Salinas, CA).  

    Wrobel serves as an Organization of American Historians Distinguished Lecturer, was Senior Research Fellow in Western American History at Yale University, and a Visiting Scholar at the Center of the American West, CU-Boulder. He is past president of the American Historical Association’s Pacific Coast Branch, and of Phi Alpha Theta, the National History Honor Society. Wrobel teaches undergraduate and graduate courses on the West, and modern America. A dedicated promoter of partnerships with K-12 educators, he has participated in and directed numerous teacher institutes, workshops, and colloquia across the country. Prior to OU, Wrobel taught at UNLV, Widener University, Hartwick College, and The College of Wooster.

    A Southwest Londoner by origin, Wrobel said, “the region—from southern Nevada to central Oklahoma—has been my home for two decades and the WHA has been my primary professional affiliation for a quarter century.” Wrobel holds master’s and doctoral degrees in American Intellectual History from Ohio University and a BA in history/philosophy from the University of Kent, Canterbury, England.

    Wrobel has served the WHA as a member of the Council, Nominating Committee, Program Committee, various prize and award committees, and as Chair of Local Arrangements. “My scholarship,” he notes, “has focused on what the West means to its residents, to the nation, and to the world, but it is hard to express fully just how much the WHA has meant to me over the years.” Wrobel will serve as the WHA President until next year’s conference.

    The 59th Annual WHA Conference was held October 16-19 at the Westgate Resort in Las Vegas, Nevada. According to Dr. Elaine Nelson, WHA Executive Director, the conference attracted over 975 scholars and educators who attended many of the 149 scheduled sessions on subjects ranging from environmental, borderlands, Latinx, LGBTQ, gender, immigration, and Native American and Indigenous history. Nelson noted that the 2019 conference was the third-largest conference in WHA history (and largest since 1995), which she attributes to the field and the leadership. “Record-setting attendance is often a sign that there is a lot of energy surrounding the field of western history,” she said. “But this also speaks to the enthusiasm that members and presenters have for the future leadership. I am very excited to work with the WHA’s newest President and President-Elect. Their dedication to the study of the West and to the organization is inspiring.”

    As Wrobel officially assumed the WHA Presidency at the 2019 Awards Ceremony, the association also celebrated its incoming President-Elect, Dr. Maria E. Montoya. She is the Dean of Arts and Sciences at NYU Shanghai and an Associate Professor of History at NYU New York. She will serve as WHA President- Elect until next October.

    Montoya has authored articles on the History of the American West, Environmental, Labor and Latina/o history and of the book, Translating Property: The Maxwell Land Grant and the Conflict over Land in the American West, 1840-1900.  She is the lead author on the U.S. History textbook, Global Americans: A Social and Global History of the United States (2018). Montoya is finishing up a manuscript, Making the Working Man’s Paradise: Progressive Management of Workers and Their Families in the Colorado Coalfields, which focuses on John D. Rockefeller and Josephine Roche, and their roles in defining the spheres of work and home life during the early twentieth century. Montoya teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in western, labor, U.S., and water history. Prior to teaching at NYU, Maria taught at the University of Colorado and for twelve years at the University of Michigan, where she was the Director of the Latina/o Studies Program.

    She recalls, “From the first moment I stepped into Howard Lamar’s class as an undergraduate and found out that I could spend my time learning about the place I came from, I was hooked on the History of the American West.” Born in Albuquerque, New Mexico, Montoya grew up in Arvada, Colorado, a suburb of Denver. She earned her BA, MA and PhD degrees at Yale University, and in between spent a couple of years at the University of New Mexico working on a master’s degree.

    Montoya attended her first WHA meeting in 1988 in Wichita, Kansas, and has rarely missed a meeting since then. “My intellectual journey and my relationship with this organization has led me on a most rewarding career of writing, teaching, and speaking about the place I call home, the American West,” Montoya said. Her service to the WHA includes: Chair of the Membership Committee, the Board of Editors of the Western Historical Quarterly, the Steering Committee for the Coalition of Western Women’s History (CWWH), Chair of the first Jensen-Miller Prize Committee, member of the Hal Rothman Award Committee, and service on the WHA Council. Montoya was also one of the founding members of the Committee on Race in the American West (CRAW), which played a profound role in expanding the WHA’s efforts to be more inclusive in its conference participation, membership, and leadership.

    Both Wrobel and Montoya believe the WHA shaped their careers in the historical profession and are honored that the membership selected them to serve in the association’s top leadership roles. “This organization has fostered a deep relationship with scholars and life-long friends who share the same passion,” Montoya said. “I am deeply honored to be chosen as the President-elect of the WHA and I look forward to serving the organization with pride, dedication, and passion for an organization that has been my intellectual home for decades.” Wrobel said, “I am looking forward to this wonderful opportunity to serve…the wonderfully diverse and vibrant constituencies that comprise our shared professional home and family. From K12, community college, small college, and university faculty, both tenure-track and contingent, to graduate and undergraduate students, independent scholars, librarians, archivists, public historians, western writers and artists, and ‘Westerners,’ of all races and ethnicities, genders, and sexual orientations, these are the ‘fit rooms’ of our ‘worthy house’ and I’m honored to call it my home.”

    Wrobel will preside over the WHA’s affairs during the next twelve months and spearhead the 2020 WHA Conference in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Together with his Program Committee Co-Chairs, Wrobel authored the 2020 Call for Papers, highlighting the responsibility of western historians: “Our understanding of the West as a set of meeting grounds where diverse peoples have come together and interacted in myriad ways, from the most positive and productive to the most violent and destructive, has to be conveyed beyond the confines of the academy to the larger public.” Held October 14-17, “Migrations, Meeting Grounds, and Memory” is the major theme for the 60th Annual Conference.


  • Monday, November 11, 2019 11:58 AM | Anonymous member (Administrator)



    Call for Applications, 2020-2021: 

    The Tyson Scholars of American Art Program at Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art

    Crystal Bridges Museum and the Tyson Scholars Program encourages and supports scholarship that seeks to expand boundaries or traditional categories of investigation into American art. Crystal Bridges invites applications addressing a variety of topics including art history, architecture, visual and material culture, American studies, craft, Indigenous art, Latin American art, American studies, and contemporary art. Projects with an interdisciplinary focus are particularly encouraged. 

    The program is open to scholars holding a PhD (or equivalent experience) as well as to PhD candidates. Applicants may be affiliated with a university, museum, or independent. Scholars will be selected on the basis of their potential to advance understanding of American art and to intersect meaningfully with aspects of Crystal Bridges’ collections, architecture, or landscape. 

    To support their research, Tyson Scholars have access to the art and library collections of Crystal Bridges as well as the library at the University of Arkansas in nearby Fayetteville. Stipends vary depending on the duration of residency, position as senior scholar, post-doctoral scholar or pre-doctoral scholar, and range from $15,000 to $30,000 per semester. Additional funds for relocation are provided, and research travel funds are available during the residency upon application. Scholars are also provided with housing at one of the Crystal Bridges residences, within easy walking distance from the Museum via wooded trails and approximately 1.5 miles from downtown Bentonville. Scholars have private bed and bathrooms in the house, and share comfortable indoor and outdoor common spaces including an expansive yard, garage, and patio. In addition to housing, Scholars are provided workspace in the curatorial wing of Crystal Bridges’ library. The workspace is an enclosed area shared with other Tyson Scholars. Scholars are provided with basic office supplies, desk space, an office chair, space on a bookshelf, and a locking cabinet with key for personal belongings and files.

    Further information about the Tyson Scholars Program, application instructions, and application portal can be found at http://crystalbridges.org/tyson-scholars/. Applications for the 2020-2021 academic year open November 1, 2019 and close January 15, 2020.

    About Crystal Bridges:

    Opened to the public on November 11, 2011, Crystal Bridges was founded in 2005 by philanthropist Alice Walton. Crystal Bridges’ permanent collection spans five centuries of American art ranging from the Colonial era to the current day. It has particular strengths in colonial through earlytwentieth-century painting and a growing collection of post-war and contemporary art in all media. Crystal Bridges’ research library consists of approximately 60,000 volumes as well as significant manuscript and ephemera holdings. The library also houses a comprehensive collection of American color-plate books from the nineteenth century.

    The Tyson Scholars of American Art Program supports full-time scholarship in an expansive definition of American art and visual and material culture from the colonial period to the present. The program was established in 2012 through a $5 million commitment from the Tyson family and Tyson Foods, Inc. Since its inception, the Tyson Scholars program has supported the work of 41 scholars, attracting academic professionals in a variety of disciplines from across the country.



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!