Established in June 1993, H-Amstdy (American Studies) was one of the earliest lists created by H-Net, the History and Humanities On-line Initiative. In common with other H-Net lists, H-Amstdy is moderated and has a representative Editorial Board.
H-Amstdy accepts the terms of the H-Net Charter as stated in March 1994 and agrees to work within its guidelines. Although H-Amstdy cultivates friendly relations with a variety of American Studies organizations, it is independent and not subject to the po
licies/ideologies of any particular group.
MISSION STATEMENT
H-Amstdy provides a forum for research and teaching in the field of American Studies, and for interdisciplinary or multi-
disciplinary perspectives on culture. The list focuses on the cultures of the United States, and offers an international
perspective on the study of American culture abroad. H-Amstdy fosters collegiality through discussions on research and teaching
that provide a cross-disciplinary approach to culture. H-Amstdy also supports valuable resources for scholars via networking in
the profession, storage and retrieval of resource files, and facilitation of global communication between scholars.
POLICIES AND PROCEDURES
The Editors and Editorial Board (H-Ambrd)
Editors-There are four to six rotating Editors, with one person functioning at any given time as the List Coordinator (LC) and one Editor performing the tasks of the Acting List Editor (ALE). The Editors also rotate tasks involved in maintaining the
database, networking, and assisting subscribers.
The List Coordinator arranges schedules, assigns tasks, trains the editors, and takes care of technical matters, such as
error messages, relating to H-Amstdy and H-Ambrd, the list serving the members of the H-Amstdy Editorial Board.
The ALE "runs" the list, processes posts, advises contributors on problematic posts, and subscribes and contributes to the internal
H-Net lists (see Appendix, Section A, Duties and Responsibilities of Acting List Editor). The ALE regularly consults with the
Board, but maintains the right to make final decisions.
Editors are selected by the H-Amstdy Board and approved by H-Exec to serve a trial four-month period, after which they are
appointed for one-year renewable terms. The performance of the Editors will be reviewed every six months at the Board's
convenience, and in consultation with existing Editors and the Executive Director of H-Net. During the appointment, the
Editor must act as the Acting List Editor for three weeks during the first four months, and six to eight weeks within the
remaining eight months, while agreeing to act in other capacities when not in the role of ALE (see Appendix, Section B, Additional
Duties of the Editors). In a situation where a Editor is judged not to have fulfilled his/her duties responsibly, the H-Amstdy Board may recommend that the Editor resign, or may forward such a recommendation to H-Exec.
According to the H-Net Charter, the Executive Committee of H-Net approves all H-Net List Editors and Editorial Board Members.
In the event new Editors are needed, existing Editors and other Board Members may recommend individuals, or will call
for volunteers, preferably from the ranks of the Board. Prospective Editors will be rigorously screened by a select panel of H-Ambrd members acting in consultation with the existing Editors. When a likely candidate has been selected, the Board forwards th
e name and resume to the Executive Director of H-Net for approval by H-Exec.
The Editorial Board (H-Ambrd) is composed of 20 to 25 volunteers drawn from the American Studies community. The Editorial Board responds to Editor concerns over particular posts, and provides a sounding board and expertise for specific projects. Memb
ers of the Editorial Board are approved by the Executive Committee of H-Net in consultation with the Editors and
other Board Members. The relationship between the Board and the Editors is flexible and informal. It is desirable that a
consensus be reached after conferring with the Board and other Editors. The ALE retains the right to make final decisions.
The Board cuts across disciplinary borders, research and teaching interests, and national borders to include American Studies program faculty, scholars interested in cross-disciplinary approaches, international scholars, and students. Individual Board
members are appointed to a fixed, renewable term of one year. The Board will maintain a broad base representative of the
diversity of the larger American Studies community. When new Board members are needed, the current Board and Editors
recommend possible replacements to the Executive Director of H-Net. In the event that a consensus cannot be reached, a vote on candidates will be taken and a simple majority determines which new Board member(s) are forwarded to H-Exec for approval.
Responsibilities of the Board
The Board advises the Editors on problem postings, specific projects, and outside inquiries concerning the identity of the
list. Board members also recommend new initiatives and projects, and in accordance with the H-Net Charter, are collectively
responsible for formulating an H-Amstdy Vision Statement. The Vision Statement defines the short and long term goals of the
list and is subject to an annual review by the Board. New board members will receive a copy of both the Policy and Vision
Statements.
During October of each year, Board members will be surveyed to remind members of their responsibilities and to ascertain
continued interest in serving as a Board Member. Failure to respond by October 30th will be taken, with regrets, as a sign of
the member's resignation. Board members will be asked to offer suggestion for potential substitutes. Individual members should
notify the List Coordinator if they are going to be out of town (or just out of touch) for more than two weeks. It is important
that Board members devote time to H-Amstdy and that they respond to inquiries, and policy discussions.
Policies and Procedures
This is a moderated list. The Editors and Board of H-Amstdy reserve the right to decide whether messages are relevant to this
list. We request that the tone of the list remain collegial and scholarly. Contributors are encouraged to raise issues and concerns framed in a discussion of American Studies or about American culture. All posts to H-Amstdy must be followed by the
poster's name, institution, and e-address.
The following types of posts are unlikely to be distributed on H-Amstdy:
-- Personal attacks, or flames-Arguments directed at individuals rather than issues.
-- Streams of consciousness without focus, and queries that are not framed within a specific scholarly context.
-- Posts that do not adhere to the Mission of the list.
-- Commercial Notices.
-- Copyrighted materials lacking redistribution permission.
-- Nonscholarly Partisan Political Statements.
-- Queries that are too narrowly focussed, or requests for information readily available elsewhere.
A detailed POSTING GUIDE for subscribers, replete with examples, is available on the H-Amstdy fileserver.
Procedures for Rejecting/Altering Posts
The procedures for handling irrelevant or inappropriate postings:
1) The contribution is returned with explanation.
2) The contributor is referred to a more relevant list or is invited to revise. If the message is satisfactorily revised, the
matter is dropped.
3) If a contributor declines to change the message, the Acting List Editor can reject the message based on the policies of
the list, or with a marginal post, request assistance from the Board. Board Members are asked to respond in 72 hours. This does
not constitute a formal vote on the matter but rather a collegial request for counsel.
4) The Acting List Editor then makes the final decision on whether to post or not to post.
5) Rejected posts with explanation will be available to the Board on the H-Amstdy fileserver and to the rejected subscriber in each case. The Board will not necessarily be advised of all posts that are revised and resubmitted.
If a contributor begins a regular campaign of irrelevant posts, or the exchange between the Editors and contributor becomes
personal, the Acting List Editor refers the matter to the Board for comment with examples and explanation. Once a decision
has been made, the subscriber is informed of the Board's decision and told that their posts will unlikely be distributed in the
future unless they become more relevant to the list. Harassment will not be tolerated. In case of continuing ad hominem
attacks/irrelevant posts by a subscriber, the Board will consider permanently unsubscribing him/her.
Amendments/Revisions to the Policy Statement
1) The Board takes suggestions for changing the Policy Statement under consideration, and may recommend that changes be made.
2) The Editors will post a revised version of the Policy Statement for discussion. A vote of the full Board is required to
change the Policy Statement, with three-quarters of the Board responding needed for approval. Board Members may vote for or
against a measure, or can abstain.
APPENDIX
Procedures, Duties, and Responsibilities of H-Amstdy Editors
In anticipation of an enlarged future role for technical consultants with backgrounds in the humanities, H-Amstdy aims to
provide a complete internet education for its Editors. H-Amstdy staff will be trained in the management of listserv,
fileserver, gopher, webserver, MOO, and other resources, and will be encouraged to initiate electronic projects of their own
and/or educate others about them. Though much will be demanded of H-Amstdy Editors in terms of enthusiasm and willingness to
learn, the position offers unrivalled access to information about our field, visibility as a practitioner, and a new window of
opportunity in a world of shrinking possibilities.
There are four to six H-Amstdy Editors, each considered full members of the Editorial Board. The Editors work as a team,
keeping in contact with each other and dividing the management of the list according to the agreed-upon schedules. One Editor
will always act in the capacity of Acting List Editor (ALE) and one in the capacity of List Coordinator (LC).
Editors are selected by the H-Amstdy Editorial Board and approved by H-Exec to serve a one year renewable term. During
this period they must act as ALE for at least three weeks during the first four months of probation, and six to eight weeks within
the remaining eight months.
Section A-Duties and Responsibilities of the Acting List Editor
1) Receiving, processing and posting submissions for H-Amstdy
2) Communicating with authors of posts in situations requiring possible revision and resubmission of messages;
3) Communicating with the Editorial Board in situations requiring group consultations or articulation of list policies (e.g.
flames);
4) Forwarding to other H-Net editors posts distributed on H-Amstdy but suitable to those lists as well;
5) Forwarding to H-Post any messages of general interest distributed to H-Amstdy;
6) Forwarding to other H-Amstdy Editors items germane to their duties (such as queries about resources, subscription
requests, technical help):
7) Subscribing to the internal H-Net lists, H-Edit, H-Post, and H-Staff, and visibly contributing to these forums; and to other
internal H-Net forums (e.g. H-Gopher, H-Copy) where convenient.
Section B-Additional duties of the Editors
When not serving as Acting List Editor, the Editors will be assigned other duties that will rotate among the (non-ALE)
Editors. These duties may include:
1) Receiving and processing new subscriptions for H-Amstdy; helping subscribers with listserv problems (e.g. setting nomail,
unsubbing); advising subscribers about list resources; updating the white pages on gopher and fileserver.
2) Maintaining the fileserver, gopher, and home page of H-Amstdy and adding relevant files to it; maintaining H-Amstdy news
packages where necessary; consulting with the Board about development of resources, educating subscribers about the
Internet.
3) Acting as a liaison between H-Net and H-Amstdy and reporting to the H-Amstdy Board on a weekly basis about policy matters affecting H-Amstdy; monitoring the postings on H-Amstdy and advising the ALE about possible discrepancies and mistakes in post
s; and monitoring other lists for announcements of interest to H-Amstdy.
12/14/94
Unanimously adopted as a policy document by H-Amstdy Editorial Board, 12/19/94.
The Board of H-AMSTDY on 12/19/94 (click here to see the current H-AMSTDY Board).
Michelle Andreadakis, Brigham Young University
Rich Berkley, University of Wisconsin Law School
John Bloom, ACLS Fellow
John Burt, English Department, Brandeis University
Sarah Chinn, English and Comparative Literature, Columbia University
Donna Darden, Department of Sociology and Philosophy Tennessee Technological University
Philip Davies, Reader in American Studies, School of Arts and Humanities, De Montfort University, Leicester, UK
Christopher Felker, Senior Research Associate, History, MIT
Jeff Finlay, American Studies Program, NYU (editor)
Susan Garfinkel, American Civilization Program, University of Pennsylvania
James Hall, Dept. of African-American Studies, University of Illinois at Chicago
D. Melissa Hilbish, George Mason University
Rich Horwitz, Professor, American Studies, University of Iowa
Howard Kerr, Dean of the Honors College, University of Illinois at Chicago
Catherine Lavender, History Department, University of Colorado at Boulder (editor)
David Mauk, Assoc. Prof in American Civilization, University of Trondheim, Norway
Steve Mintz, Professor of History, University of Houston
Jay Mechling, American Studies, University of California, Davis
David Nye, Chair, Center for American Studies, Odense University, Denmark
John Saillant, Department of History, Brown University
Kali Tal, Editor Vietnam Generation
Edward H. Thompson, Director, American Studies Programme, University of Dundee, Dundee, Scotland, U.K. (editor)
Richard Tuerk, Department of Literature and Languages, East Texas State University
