History: Associations

The American Historical Association is the largest professional organization serving historians in all fields and all professions. The AHA is a trusted voice advocating for history education, the professional work of historians, and the critical role of historical thinking in public life.

Founded in 1907, the Organization of American Historians (OAH) is the largest professional society dedicated to the teaching and study of American history. The mission of the organization is to promote excellence in the scholarship, teaching, and presentation of American history, and to encourage wide discussion of historical questions and the equitable treatment of all practitioners of history.

The African American Intellectual History Society (AAIHS) is a scholarly organization that aims to foster dialogue about researching, writing, and teaching black thought and culture. AAIHS originally began as a blog founded by Christopher Cameron in early 2014. Today AAIHS is one of the leading scholarly organizations in the United States. They support the research of scholars in the field through an array of fellowships, awards, and prizes, including the Pauli Murray Book Prize and the C.L.R. James Research Fellowships.

Established in 1933 as the American Military History Foundation, renamed in 1939 the American Military Institute, and renamed again in 1990 the Society for Military History, the Society is devoted to stimulating and advancing the study of military history. Its membership (today more than 2700) has included many of the world's most prominent scholars, soldiers, and citizens interested in military history.

The American Academy of Research Historians of Medieval Spain (AARHMS) brings together scholars whose research focuses on the lands and peoples of the Iberian peninsula and associated territories from the period spanning roughly 400 to 1500 CE. Founded in 1974, AARHMS is committed to improving communication among medieval Hispanists in the Americas, Europe, and beyond.

The American Association for State and Local History provides resources for history lovers, professionals, volunteers, and enthusiasts. AASLH provides crucial resources, guidance, professional development, advocacy, new publications, field-wide research, and a sense of connectedness to over 5,500 institutional and individual members, as well as leadership for history and history organizations nationally. It is the only comprehensive national organization dedicated to state and local history.

The individuals who comprise the PCA are a group of scholars and enthusiasts who study popular culture. The Popular Culture Association (formally the Popular Culture Association / American Culture Association) is a 501c3 which offers a venue to come together and share ideas and interests about the field or about a particular subject within the field. The Association also provides publication opportunities and sponsors the PCA Endowment.

The American Society for Eighteenth-Century Studies, established in 1969, is the foremost learned society in the United States for the study of all aspects of the period from the later seventeenth through the early nineteenth century.

The American Studies Association promotes the development and dissemination of interdisciplinary research on U.S. culture and history in a global context. Its purpose is to support scholars and scholarship committed to original research, critical thinking, and public dialogue.

The mission of the Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH®) is to promote, research, preserve, interpret and disseminate information about Black life, history and culture to the global community.

The AAH is the premier organization of Ancient History professionals in the United States and Canada. Membership is open to all persons with an interest in ancient history. The Association of Ancient Historians was founded with two essential objectives. The first of these is to foster a regular forum for scholarly interaction among historians of the Ancient Mediterranean, and secondly, to do so in a manner that emphasizes collegiality and social interaction.

Initially organized to identify, locate, preserve and memorialize the military installations and units that no longer serve the role for which they were created, mounting member interest soon included other subjects including soldier’s life and customs of service.

The National Council for History Education provides professional and intellectual leadership to foster an engaged community committed to the teaching, learning, and appreciation of diverse histories.

NCPH inspires public engagement with the past and serves the needs of practitioners in putting history to work in the world by building community among historians, expanding professional skills and tools, fostering critical reflection on historical practice, and publicly advocating for history and historians.

Phi Alpha Theta is an American honor society for undergraduate and graduate students and professors of history. The society has over 400,000 members, with some 9,000 new members joining each year through 970 chapters nationwide.

The Popular Culture Association (formally the Popular Culture Association / American Culture Association) is a 501c3 which offers a venue to come together and share ideas and interests about the field or about a particular subject within the field. The Association also provides publication opportunities and sponsors the PCA Endowment.

The Renaissance Society of America is the largest international organization devoted to the critical study of the world from 1300–1700 and its importance today. The RSA fosters initiatives that feature innovative, multidisciplinary research and pedagogical approaches together with well-established methodologies. It sponsors digital and print publications to disseminate knowledge, organizes in-person and virtual events to bring together diverse communities of inquiry and practice, and promotes the works of its members in the field of Renaissance Studies.

The aims of the Society for Armenian Studies are to promote the study of Armenian culture and society, including history, language, literature, and social, political, and economic questions; to facilitate the exchange of scholarly information pertaining to Armenian studies around the world; and to sponsor panels and conferences on Armenian studies.

The Society for Historians of American Foreign Relations (SHAFR) is dedicated to the scholarly study of the history of American foreign relations. As such, it promotes the "the study, advancement and dissemination of a knowledge of American Foreign Relations " through the sponsorship of research, annual meetings, and publications. SHAFR.org is an online platform for showcasing the activities of the society and an online resource for its members.

Established in 1977, the Society for Historians of the Early American Republic (SHEAR) is an association of scholars dedicated to exploring the events and the meaning of United States history between 1776 and 1861.

From its inception, the Society of American Historians has sought to bring good historical writing to the largest possible audience. An important step in that direction was taken in 1954 when the society—under a leadership including Allan Nevins and Bruce Catton and in cooperation with the American Association for State and Local History--initiated the magazine American Heritage.

The World History Association (WHA) is a professional association of scholars, teachers, and students organized to promote world history by encouraging teaching, research, publications, and personal interactions. It was founded in 1982 by a group of university faculty and secondary-school teachers determined to address the needs of a newly emerging historical sub-discipline. As described in its constitution, its mission is to “promote activities which will increase historical awareness, understanding among and between peoples, and global consciousness.”