International Students of History Association (ISHA)
ISHA is an international non-profit organization of students interested in
history and related fields that seeks to promote international cooperation and
the exchange of ideas among all students of history. It was founded soon after
the opening of Eastern Europe, in 1990, by a group of Hungarian history students
wishing to establish new contacts between East and West.
Recognizing that understanding the past is fundamental to promoting mutual
understanding between peoples of different nations, cultures, and social groups
in the present, ISHA is committed to fostering international cooperation through
the critical and open-minded study of the past. At ISHA we firmly believe that
contacts established between future historians, history teachers, and
intellectuals will further this goal.
The International Secretariat headquartered in Leuven, Belgium, is the executive
body of ISHA. It is responsible for coordinating activities among the local
sections, organizing and directing various long-term projects, distributing ISHA
publications, and tending to the administration of the organization. Sections
are represented in the Legislative Assembly, an annual gathering during which
future activities are planned and executive officers are elected by delegates
from all sections. In addition, the ISHA Academic Board meets triennially to
maintain close contact between the International Secretariat and the ISHA
membership. ISHA is a "grass-roots" organization, with most of its activities
initiated at the local level.
The highlight of the ISHA year is the annual conference, organized around a
theme by a different section every year. This year the theme "Historiography
and Propaganda" was explored at the annual conference held in Mainz, Germany, in
April. The theme for next year's conference, to be held in Vienna, Austria, is
"Man and Nature."
Sections are also kept abreast of activities through the official newsletter,
*ISHAnews*, which appears quarterly, and by postings on the ISHA listserv. In
addition, papers presented at ISHA's annual conference are made available
through the biannual publication *ISHA Journal*.
ISHA is involved in several ongoing projects of particular interest to students
of history, among them a handbook of European history departments--certain to be
a valuable reference for students interested in study abroad--as well as a
modest exchange program for students who wish to spend a short, intensive period
of time conducting research in foreign countries but who are not served by
traditional exchange programs. ISHA is currently organizing discussion groups
in specialized areas of history among its membership. In addition to these
long-term projects, many activities of smaller scope are organized within and
between local sections, including seminars, study trips, and joint publications.
To date, ISHA sections have been established in almost every European country,
as well as in Israel, Georgia, Azerbaijan, and the United States. One of our
primary goals for 1995 is to increase the number of non-European ISHA sections.
If you are interested in joining ISHA or founding a section in your locality,
please contact the International Secretariat for more information:
ISHA International Secretariat
Justus Lipsiusstraat 44
3000 Leuven
BELGIUM
Email: isha%hist%lw@cc3.kuleuven.ac.be
Tel: (32) 16-232629
Fax: (32) 16-258033