Reflecting on the SHA/WHA Super Mega Awesome Conference
Greetings from another late night here in Pueblo, Colorado as I attempt somehow to put my thoughts to paper about the mega conference between the Western History Association and Southern Historical Association in Kansas City last week.
I remember when plans were announced for this conference several years ago that 2024 seemed like an eternity and yet here we are. I think in my mind I was kind of hoping generally for the Conference to End All History Conferences. Maybe Survivor’s song “Burning Heart” from the Rocky IV soundtrack best encapsulated the feeling:
Two worlds collide, rival nations
It's a primitive clash venting years of frustrations
Bravely we hope against all hope
There is so much at stake
Seems our freedom's up against the ropes
Does the crowd understand?
Is it East versus West or man against man?
Can any nation stand alone?
Of course, the Southern is America, mostly because the food is better there than in the West and also we are the good guys. But whatever.
So it turns out that it wasn't a super awesome mega conference. It was actually 2 separate conferences held on two different days with panels starting at different times in hotels space roughly between Memphis and New Orleans. In fact when I spoke to a lot of people they were unaware of the other panels going on with the other conference. Some of them didn't even know that there was another conference going on. So there wasn't maybe a sense of camaraderie that we had hoped for.
I think the closest thing that I kept coming to in my own mind was that this was a family reunion where you hung out with the cousins that you knew and did not hang out with the cousins that you didn't. Sure, we were all big one family (God knows historians fight like one) but were we close? Did we come together? I don't know that we did.
So while we didn’t quite stick the landing, I like that we tried. I hope we learn from this in the future and do it again. We’ll get better.
Here’s some bullet point takeaways, mostly because I am too tired to write with any of my usual panache:
I got a lot of questions about my career with the Forest Service. I think a lot of professors right now are keenly aware that our students are not going to land tenure track positions at universities and frankly, those who do suffer from extremely poor pay and maybe even worse work conditions. So I found myself talking to a lot of people sharing that while I was no longer “an academic” I was still writing my book, still doing good work with tribes, and enjoying my time. So if you're reading this and you would like to have me talk to you or your students about government work as a very real and rewarding option as a scholar I'm happy to do so.
My friends who are professors talked a lot about artificial intelligence and ChatGPT. It is clearly wearing on many of you. There is a real frustration on the part of university professors not only to get their students to perform in class but simply to get their students to perform. Work avoidance on the part of students seems to be a real concern. I could see it in your faces. We get into this because we love the act of learning because we love the work and it breaks our hearts when that is not being done by the next generation.1 I hate seeing folks so dismayed.
So many of you were so kind to come up and offer your support and tell me how much you admired what I’m doing. I can’t thank you enough for this. I second guess myself daily. Your encouragement keeps me going.
Everyone really seemed to love Kansas City. It is a great freaking town. Beautiful, clean, lots of food to eat, a terrific airport, and really lovely people. The organizers really knocked it out of the park with this choice.
The WWI Museum is really legit. Special thanks to my friend Nikki Dean for the guided tour.
Best food? Oh man. This is gonna shock you: Kata Nori Handroll Bar. This is not only one of the best sushi restaurants I’ve ever been to, but one of the best restaurants, period. Absolutely go there as soon as possible.
Alright, I’ll have more for you later but for now, enjoy Survivor.
Of course, you know I have all the answers. Being a loudmouth with two podcasts and a blog affords me such liberties.