About the SHA

The Southern Historical Association is one of the most rigorous and convivial professional associations in the United States. The SHA holds an annual meeting, usually in the first or second week of November, and proudly publishes The Journal of Southern History. The deep and enduring significance of the South as a region—its centrality to the history of critical national issues, including civil rights, public health, the environment, gender roles, politics, and the economy—has ensured that the SHA and its members have been vital participants in the national dialogue for more than eight decades. The organization also has a history of enriching its programs by featuring influential figures like Ralph Ellison, Robert Penn Warren, Natasha Trethewey, and President Jimmy Carter. Yet, for all its dynamism, the SHA has remained a genuine scholarly and human community; regardless of their institutional affiliation, members attending the annual meeting can expect to come away feeling professionally and personally renewed after encountering new ideas and visiting with old friends. This was precisely why, at age 88, the great historian and SHA benefactor C. Vann Woodward admitted privately that while he avoided the meetings of the other major historical organizations, “I still like to go to the ‘Southern.’”