Events & ProgramsThe SHA is not just a journal and an annual meeting. Our charge is to support history education in and about the American South all-year long. To that end, the Membership Committee has created a number of new initiatives: SHA Grad Student Workshops The SHA Membership Committee, in concert with the SHA Grad Council, is excited to institute a new virtual program for grad students. Each academic year, we will host two virtual lunchtime workshops around a theme, which will be chosen by the SHA Grad Council. In the Fall, the workshop will include a panel of experts and Q&A, while the Spring will include break-out sessions and workshopping of materials. Our hope is that the workshops will build on one another, providing not only information but concrete feedback and guidance. We also hope they will be another avenue of community-building for grad students. Coffee, Tea, and Confab Need a cuppa and some good conversation? Join the SHA Membership Committee’s new virtual hangout sessions. Our goal is to bring folks together in an informal virtual setting to chat, vent, bounce ideas, strategize, whatever you may need! The first gathering will take place this summer and will be an open Meet +Greet for all SHA members. We hope to get input from attendees about what they most want and need from sessions like this. Then, we will decide on future meet-ups that might be specific to public historians, junior scholars, topical groups, career stages, or other factors. Confabs will be roughly an hour in the late morning Eastern Time on Fridays so folks across the US and across the pond can participate. History Across Generations This new virtual program will bring together junior and senior scholars to chat about their shared areas of expertise. Twice a year, two historians at different stages of their career will interview one another through a Zoom webinar in the hopes of learning things new and old about our profession. The chats will not just be between two individuals, as we will encourage audience participation in the hopes of further discovering what different generational experiences might reveal. Indeed, our goal is to bridge the scholarly generational divide, one that is too often reaffirmed and reinforced through institutional practices. There are always new approaches to old questions, old ways that deserve rediscovery, and paths forward that can be charted together. Classic Texts in Southern History This new virtual program will bring members together to confab about classic texts in Southern history. A panel of experts will discuss the content, context, and meaning of the text, both in the time of its publication and in our own time, and then open to the audience to further explore this canonical work together. What will we be talking about? Well, rather than tell the people what they want, we want to hear from you! We're seeking input of SHA members on what our first few texts should be through this Google Form. We're defining "classic texts" as books that have made a considerable impact on Southern history, an impact that is still sparking discussion today. They are also classic in that they are at least twenty years old but not written before the 20th century when the field of Southern history became more professionalized. We've compiled a list of ten options, but it is in *no way* exhaustive. Feel free to add your own suggestion in the "other" box at the end. Second Book Writers’ Workshop The Southern Historical Association is excited to announce its inaugural Second Book Writers’ Workshop, entitled “Get it Done: A Second Book Writers’ Workshop.” If you’re working on a second book project and could use some motivation and support to “Get it done,” please consider applying for our program, to be held over zoom in the weeks prior to the New Orleans annual meeting in November. The workshop will also host a wrap-up conversation over lunch in New Orleans on Friday, November 5. For more information, please check out https://www.thesha.org/second-book or contact the organizers, Bob Elder ([email protected]) or Kelly Kennington ([email protected]). Junior Scholars Workshop The Junior Scholars Workshop is a program to support and encourage advanced graduate students and recent graduates working in the field of southern history, as well as to provide a space for SHA members to connect outside of the annual meeting. As such, we encourage attendees to our Zoom sessions to chat with one another or say hello to friends. All attendees are also welcome to ask questions in the chat as well as on camera. To check the upcoming schedule, to volunteer, or for more information, please check out https://www.thesha.org/workshop. SHA’s ‘Public Square’ The Public Square—the SHA's hub for all things Public History—is back at the annual SHA Meeting! In its second year, the Square will continue highlighting the important work of public historians while also functioning as the central meeting place for all conference goers. Centrally located in the exhibit hall, come to meet, mingle, and chat about the work we do in and with the public. Stop by at any time to talk with folks from local museums, historic sites, archives, and university Public History programs, who will “take-over” the Square for an hour or two during the conference (make sure to check out the schedule in the conference program). The Square will also be a great place to toast friends new and old during its three receptions–the second annual New Attendees Reception (Thursday), the first-ever New Books Reception (Friday), and the second annual Public History Happy Hour (Saturday). |