AHA Session 56
Saturday, January 4, 2025: 8:30 AM-10:00 AM
Madison Room (New York Hilton, Second Floor)
Chair:
William Thomas III, University of Nebraska, Lincoln
Panel:
Matthew J. Connelly, Columbia University
Andreas Fickers, University of Luxembourg
Joanna Guldi, Emory University
Daryle Williams, University of California, Riverside
Andreas Fickers, University of Luxembourg
Joanna Guldi, Emory University
Daryle Williams, University of California, Riverside
Session Abstract
This roundtable explores the possibilities and challenges of large-scale historical research in the discipline of history. For decades historians have been at the forefront of collaborative, computational, and digital research, but the scale, volume, and complexity of historical records have expanded far beyond the capacity of individual scholars to organize. Historians are increasingly engaged with questions of data sovereignty, access, and preservation. Despite the significance of these historical records, federal and private foundation funding for historical research, often tailored for individual researchers, has remained largely static. As federal agencies support multi-institutional centers (“engines”) to drive research in the natural and social sciences, historians are considering similar modes of organizing historical research.
What models of large-scale research are suitable for historians? What discoveries and opportunities are possible when historians engage in large-scale research? How can historians work with federal agencies and private foundations to support research on a scale appropriate to advance the discipline?
This roundtable will begin with a moderated conversation of the panelists, and then open to questions and conversations with the audience. The roundtable will allow colleagues to reflect on the opportunities and challenges for conducting large-scale historical inquiry.
See more of: AHA Sessions