President's Message

From the President:

Everyone I talked with at the last conference expressed delight that our organization is now a reality. For some of us who had long dreamed of such an organization the third conference was indeed a very special moment. SHCY is now well-launched and is starting to develop its own traditions and rhythms. The next challenge for us is to find the necessary ways and means to sustain this momentum. I think we all know that there are many more scholars out there who work in the history of children and youth or in closely-related fields who are not yet members of our organization. Each of us should think of ourselves as belonging to the membership committee, and if each one of us brought in just one new member the size of our organization would double. There are graduate students all over the world who should now know about SHCY and who should be thinking of giving a presentation to the next conference. It is a simple matter to forward a copy of this newsletter to people you think might be interested. So don’t just sit there and enjoy reading about the organization; do something to make it better!

In addition to adding members there are a number of other things we need to be considering. Some folks are already investigating the need for a journal for the history of children and youth. SHCY has established a committee, chaired by Jon Pahl, to explore publishing possibilities. And we are trying to ensure that we have a presence and visibility at annual meetings of the AHA, OAH and other organizations. So in addition to submitting proposals to our conferences, consider proposing sessions on the history of children and youth at other conferences. When you attend those meetings be sure and go to sessions that focus on children and youth and make your presence known. Talk up the organization; make contacts; encourage people to join and participate. In the words of the great song from “Ragtime” MAKE THEM HEAR YOU.

Joe Hawes
SHCY President