The Rights and Responsibilities of Equity: Independent Scholars, Professional Standards, and the National Coalition of Independent Scholars

The corporatization of the university and the recent economic recession both have made the equation of practicing history and holding a tenured or at least tenure-track position in history increasingly tenuous. Although professional organizations in the field, most notably the American Historical Association, have become increasingly sensitive to this reality, the burden of gaining and maintaining legitimacy has remained largely on the shoulders of independent scholars themselves, who too often have worked in isolation with little support or community. Although the decline of tenure-track employment in academia is itself a serious problem to address, the purpose of this presentation will be to examine how unaffiliated and marginally affiliated scholars may strive to gain and maintain a more equal footing with their tenure-track and tenured colleagues.

The problem this paper seeks to address is twofold—on the one hand, independent scholars (broadly defined) do not work under the traditional pressure to publish and maintain professional activity that is central to the academic tenure and promotion process. On the other hand, they generally do not enjoy the access to library and electronic or financial and other support towards professional involvement that have been traditionally associated with academic affiliation. The challenge for independent scholars therefore is how, on the one hand, to obtain more equal access to scholarly resources and opportunities, and on the other hand to create and enforce “equivalent standards”of scholarship and professional service that are essential to maintaining legitimacy and recognition within the history profession. There is also the challenge of how help those who seek to obtain or return to traditional academic employment “keep current.” Although this presentation cannot offer definitive answers, it will also address the role that the National Coalition of Independent Scholars, which has recently become an AHA affiliate, is playing in addressing these issues.