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Crystal B. Lake wins prestigious ACLS award

ASECS Member Crystal B. Lake has been awarded an ACLS Project Development Grant. Her project, “Reading/Making: Handcrafting Literature in the Long Eighteenth Century,” recovers the surprising range of crafts, customized commodities, and designed environments that early readers created between 1650 and 1850 that directly reference published poems, plays, novels, and works of nonfiction. These “literary objects” include needlepoint samplers stitched with lines from popular poems, board games inspired by bestsellers, waxwork renditions of fictional characters, magic lantern show based on trending plots, pinprick portraits of favorite authors, and much more. “Reading/Making” documents these objects systematically… Read More »Crystal B. Lake wins prestigious ACLS award

New ASECS Webinar Series, “The 18th Century in the Present”

Friday, May 16, noon-1pm EDT: Webinar. You’re invited to the new webinar series, organized by ASECS President Paola Bertucci and Executive Board Members Brian Cowan and Meghan Roberts, highlighting the importance of the 18th century today! Registration required: Webinar 18th Century Today   “Citizenship, Political Dissent, and Presidential Power in the Early Republic.” Speakers:

ASECS Community Discussion, “Advocating for the Humanities”

Please join us for a community discussion where members can talk about how federal policies have impacted their scholarship, exchange information, and discuss how individuals and ASECS can engage in effective advocacy. Monday, May 12, noon-1pm EDT/9-10am PDT: Community Discussion, “Advocating for the Humanities.” Registration required: Member Discussion Federal funding cuts and threats to the free exchange of ideas have directly and indirectly affected a number of members. ASECS has created a resources and updates section on the new “News and Updates” page, including links to the statements that the Society has co-signed from larger… Read More »ASECS Community Discussion, “Advocating for the Humanities”

ACLS, AHA AND MLA FILE LAWSUIT ALLEGING ILLEGAL DISMANTLING OF NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE HUMANITIES

ASECS shares this important press release regarding the ACLS, AHA, and MLA joint lawsuit regarding the cuts to the NEH. ASECS is an institutional affiliate of the American Council of Learned Societies, the American Historical Association, and the Modern Language Association. Press release can be found here: ACLS MLA AHA LawsuitThe full text of the complaint can be found at the body of this document. NEW YORK, May 1, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — The American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS), the American Historical Association (AHA), and the Modern Language Association (MLA) filed a lawsuit in federal district court today, seeking to reverse the recent… Read More »ACLS, AHA AND MLA FILE LAWSUIT ALLEGING ILLEGAL DISMANTLING OF NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE HUMANITIES

MAA to Host Community Discussion on Cuts to Federal Funding: Tues May 6th, 1 pm EDT

Members may find this session on NEH terminations, hosted by the Medieval Academy of America, of interest. You can find the full blog post here: Discussion on Cuts to Federal Funding On Tuesday, May 6th, the MAA is sponsoring a Premodernist Community Hour for scholars affected by these terminations. This informal Zoom meeting will give scholars an opportunity to talk through their concerns, exchange information about what’s happening, reinforce a sense of scholarly community, and brainstorm about how individuals or collectives might take action. The moderators will also take note of members’ concerns for reporting… Read More »MAA to Host Community Discussion on Cuts to Federal Funding: Tues May 6th, 1 pm EDT

Levan Book Chat—Emily Hodgson Anderson, Shadow Work

May 8, 2025 12:00 PM PDT A discussion of Emily Hodgson Anderson’s new book, Shadow Work: Loneliness and the Literary Life (Columbia University Press, 2025). The author will be joined in conversation by Julia Lee (Loyola Marymount University) and Anahid Nersessian (UCLA), moderated by Dana Johnson (USC). Organized in partnership with the Department of English and the Early Modern Studies Institute. More information HERE. Registration is required. REGISTER HERE.

National Humanities Alliance Update, NEH Grants

ASECS is a member of the National Humanities Alliance. The NHA has provided this Memo to Members for distribution, dated April 3, 2025. From: National Humanities AllianceApril 3, 2025URGENT UPDATE: DOGE Rescinds NEH Grants We learned this morning (April 3) that DOGE has begun terminating previously awarded NEH grants. We understand that this includes operating grants to the state and jurisdictional humanities councils, scholarly societies, community organizations, and individuals. While we know that grants are being terminated, we do not yet know the full scope of terminations. At this moment, our understanding is that the… Read More »National Humanities Alliance Update, NEH Grants

ASECS co-signs NHA Statement on Threats to the NEH

ASECS has signed onto the statement from the National Humanities Alliance (NHA, of which ASECS is a member) on threats to the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH). The full text of the statement can be found here: NHA Statement on Threats to the NEH Members can find further information on the NHA’s efforts on their website: Save the NEH

Paola Bertucci wins Paul Bunge Prize

ASECS President Paola Bertucci, Yale University, has won the prestigious Paul Bunge Prize for her 2023 book, In the Land of Marvels: Science, Fabricated Realities, and Industrial Espionage in the Age of the Grand Tour. Congratulations! You can read more here: “Paola Bertucci wins 2025 Paul Bunge Prize for Latest Book”