{"id":2118,"date":"2024-03-25T12:07:25","date_gmt":"2024-03-25T16:07:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.historians.org\/why-history-matters\/everything-has-a-history\/"},"modified":"2025-08-24T13:23:13","modified_gmt":"2025-08-24T17:23:13","slug":"everything-has-a-history","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.historians.org\/why-history-matters\/everything-has-a-history\/","title":{"rendered":"Everything Has a History"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\n\t\t\tSupporting Historical Thinking in Public Life\t<\/h3>\n

\n\t\t\tEverything Has a History\t<\/h4>\n\t

In his December 2015 column in Perspectives on History<\/i>, AHA executive director James Grossman introduced the hashtag #EverythingHasaHistory<\/strong>. History can inform our understanding of everything and historians’ voices are essential in conversations about current events.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tRead the Column\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\"IMG_8050\"\n

\n\t\t\tCongressional Briefings\t<\/h5>\n\t

The AHA’s Congressional Briefings series seeks to provide Congressional staff members, journalists, and other members of the policy community with the historical context essential to understanding contemporary issues. The sessions are strictly nonpartisan and avoid advancing particular policy prescriptions or legislative agendas.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tLearn More\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\"Glasses\n

\n\t\t\tHistory Behind the Headlines\t<\/h5>\n\t

History Behind the Headlines is a webinar series featuring prominent historians discussing the history behind current events. Webinars in this series are generously sponsored by AHA member Jared Brubaker.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tLearn More\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n

\n\t\t\tFrom the Executive Director’s Desk\t<\/h4>\n\t

AHA executive director Sarah Weicksel offers reflections on current issues before the AHA.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tLearn More\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n

\n\t\t\tCurrent Events in Historical Context\t<\/h3>\n

\n\t\t\tHistory, the Past, and Public Culture: Results from a National Survey\t<\/h4>\n\t

This project aspired to take America’s historical pulse by assessing public perceptions of, and engagement with, the discipline of history and the past. The AHA partnered with Fairleigh Dickinson University to develop and implement a national survey that explored the public’s definition of the term “history,” where audiences access history.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tLearn More\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\"kyle-mills-2pxjS57_axE-unsplash\"\n

\n\t\t\tHistorians Respond to Federal Actions\t<\/h5>\n\t

AHA members are providing important historical context and insight to the public on the recent actions by the federal government.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tLearn More\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\"Black\n

\n\t\t\tTracking Federal Actions Affecting History\t<\/h5>\n\t

The AHA is tracking information on federal actions and their impact on history and education.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tLearn More\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\"Vibrant\n

\n\t\t\tThe History of Racism and Racist Violence in the United States\t<\/h5>\n\t

In response to ongoing racist violence in the United States, we have compiled a list of AHA resources on the history of racism and racist violence.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tAccess the Resources\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n

\n\t\t\tFor the Press\t<\/h4>\n\t

The AHA is pleased to speak with and provide resources for journalists and the media. If you are a member of the media and would like to submit a request for a referral or interview, please email press@historians.org<\/a>. Please provide any pertinent deadlines and we will do our best to accommodate your request. The AHA can find you a historian for any topic, and assists with dozens of inquiries each year.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tLearn More\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n

\n\t\t\tEverything Has a History in Perspectives<\/i>\t<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tView All\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n

\n\t\t\tWhat Does It Mean to Think Historically?\t<\/h4>\n\t

This 2007 Perspectives on History <\/i>article by Thomas Andrews and Flannery Burke introduced the “five C’s of historical thinking”: the concepts of change over time, causality, context, complexity, and contingency.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tRead Now\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n

\n\t\t\tHistory in Focus<\/i> Podcast\t<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tLearn More\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n

\n\t\t\tVetted Bibliographies\t<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\"This\n

\n\t\t\tA Bibliography of Historians’ Responses to COVID-19\t<\/h5>\n\t

In 2020-21, the AHA compiled a professionally vetted bibliography of historians’ responses to COVID-19 as a resource for the public, teachers, and scholars seeking historical perspectives on the current crisis and its local and global impacts.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tView the Bibliography\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\"A\n

\n\t\t\tHistorians on the Confederate Monument Debate\t<\/h5>\n\t

In the wake of the Charlottesville tragedy in 2017, historians across the country provided important historical context and insight to the public. The AHA compiled statements that our members, fellow historical societies, Council members, and staff made in op-eds, interviews, and other media conversations about the importance of historical thinking and knowledge within the current debate.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tView the Bibliography\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n

\n\t\t\tVideo Resources\t<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\"American\n
\n\t\t\tThe Role of Historical Thinking in Public Culture\t<\/h5>\n\t

In a recorded conversation in 2017, AHA executive director Jim Grossman and 2017 AHA president Tyler Stovall discussed the role of historical thinking in public culture.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tWatch Now\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\"tabrez-syed-dbc9DGSJzKo-unsplash\"\n

\n\t\t\tEverything Has a History Video Library\t<\/h5>\n\t

This YouTube playlist features videos of historians providing historical context on current events, including the 2016 presidential election.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tLearn More\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Supporting Historical Thinking in Public Life Everything Has a History In his December 2015 column in Perspectives on History, AHA…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6879,"parent":1817,"menu_order":2,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"Everything Has a History","_seopress_titles_desc":"The American Historical Association advocates for the crucial role of historical thinking in public life.","_seopress_robots_index":"","footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-2118","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","has-featured-image"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.historians.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2118","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.historians.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.historians.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.historians.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.historians.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2118"}],"version-history":[{"count":19,"href":"https:\/\/www.historians.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2118\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":104581,"href":"https:\/\/www.historians.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2118\/revisions\/104581"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.historians.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1817"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.historians.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6879"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.historians.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2118"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}