Becky West
@rebeccawest.bsky.social
history grad student | professional email sender for @historians.org
Reposted by Becky West
A federal judge ruled on Thursday that the Trump administration’s cancellation of more than 1,400 previously approved grants by the National Endowment for the Humanities violated the Constitution, while also creating a broad “chilling effect.”
DOGE’s Termination of Humanities Grants Is Ruled Unconstitutional
A lawsuit against the National Endowment for the Humanities drew wide attention for revealing how DOGE had used ChatGPT to cancel grants.
nyti.ms
May 8, 2026 at 2:40 AM
A federal judge ruled on Thursday that the Trump administration’s cancellation of more than 1,400 previously approved grants by the National Endowment for the Humanities violated the Constitution, while also creating a broad “chilling effect.”
Reposted by Becky West
The videos are back online.
The AHA, @acls1919.bsky.social, and @modernlanguage.bsky.social welcome today’s ruling allowing video footage of depositions to be published online again. The depositions are evidence in our lawsuit to restore the function and funding of the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Plaintiffs Welcome First Amendment Win in Decision to Make DOGE Videos Public - AHA
Plaintiff Statements about Decision of Judge Colleen McMahon on DOGE Video Release For immediate release / March 23, 2026 (New York, NY) — The American Council of Learned Societies, the American Histo...
www.historians.org
March 23, 2026 at 9:52 PM
The videos are back online.
Reposted by Becky West
I really don’t think enough is being made of the fact that it’s a three supposedly do-nothing toothless scholarly organizations—the AHA, the MLA, and the ACLS— who are directly responsible for one of the clearest and most damning exposures of this administration’s stupidity and malfeasance.
Watch this clip.
Professors will recognize this kid as the student who didn't do the reading but still has very strong opinions about how it's all "bullshit," except this time he's not the callow student who's going to fail your course, he's the reviewer who's going to cancel your grant.
Professors will recognize this kid as the student who didn't do the reading but still has very strong opinions about how it's all "bullshit," except this time he's not the callow student who's going to fail your course, he's the reviewer who's going to cancel your grant.
This is Nathan Cavanaugh, another DOGE staffer explaining how he flagged grants at NEH for "DEI" which would be reviewed for termination. 404 Media has reviewed hours of this footage and we'll have more soon.
Part of a lawsuit by @acls1919.bsky.social, @modernlanguage.bsky.social + @historians.org
Part of a lawsuit by @acls1919.bsky.social, @modernlanguage.bsky.social + @historians.org
March 13, 2026 at 4:00 AM
I really don’t think enough is being made of the fact that it’s a three supposedly do-nothing toothless scholarly organizations—the AHA, the MLA, and the ACLS— who are directly responsible for one of the clearest and most damning exposures of this administration’s stupidity and malfeasance.
Reposted by Becky West
One $16k NEH grant at a research library can change the life of a scholar forever while adding to our shared knowledge of history and culture. These depositions will drive me mad
March 13, 2026 at 12:38 PM
One $16k NEH grant at a research library can change the life of a scholar forever while adding to our shared knowledge of history and culture. These depositions will drive me mad
Reposted by Becky West
A good overview of the incompetent and nonsensical (but not unexpected) way DOGE ripped apart the NEH last spring, leading to hundreds of cancelled grants for petty reasons. I'm grateful to @historians.org and co-plantiffs for challenging these actions in federal court.
Huge NYT article on the back story of those two weeks in March/April 2025 when DOGE illegally terminated hundreds of NEH grants. Gift link!!
www.nytimes.com/2026/03/07/a...
www.nytimes.com/2026/03/07/a...
When DOGE Unleashed ChatGPT on the Humanities
www.nytimes.com
March 7, 2026 at 10:51 PM
A good overview of the incompetent and nonsensical (but not unexpected) way DOGE ripped apart the NEH last spring, leading to hundreds of cancelled grants for petty reasons. I'm grateful to @historians.org and co-plantiffs for challenging these actions in federal court.
I always tell myself I'm going to post On Here throughout the annual meeting and then immediately get caught up and forget to look at the internet for four days. So, belatedly, thanks to everyone who came out to #AHA26! My fifth(!!) meeting as AHA staff and possibly my favorite one yet 🩵
January 11, 2026 at 8:10 PM
I always tell myself I'm going to post On Here throughout the annual meeting and then immediately get caught up and forget to look at the internet for four days. So, belatedly, thanks to everyone who came out to #AHA26! My fifth(!!) meeting as AHA staff and possibly my favorite one yet 🩵
Reposted by Becky West
Not to be completely earnest on main, but I have some of the best colleagues around. Brilliant historians, thinkers, organizers, community builders. No one else I would rather be incredibly tired with after a 15-hour day than the AHA staff. #AHA26
January 11, 2026 at 5:01 AM
Not to be completely earnest on main, but I have some of the best colleagues around. Brilliant historians, thinkers, organizers, community builders. No one else I would rather be incredibly tired with after a 15-hour day than the AHA staff. #AHA26
Reposted by Becky West
Merriam-Webster’s human editors have chosen ‘slop’ as the 2025 Word of the Year.
December 15, 2025 at 2:07 PM
Merriam-Webster’s human editors have chosen ‘slop’ as the 2025 Word of the Year.
Reposted by Becky West
Just loving this year's art, designed by our own @rebeccawest.bsky.social. You can read about how the design came together in #AHAPerspectives. 🗃️
Creating the Artwork for AHA26 – AHA
AHA marketing coordinator Rebecca L. West explains the creative process of designing this year’s annual meeting artwork.
www.historians.org
November 12, 2025 at 3:36 PM
Just loving this year's art, designed by our own @rebeccawest.bsky.social. You can read about how the design came together in #AHAPerspectives. 🗃️
Really pleased with how this year's cover art came out and excited to finally be holding the program in my hands!! Time to flip through and highlight more sessions than I will possibly be able to attend
Print program for #AHA26 has arrived at the townhouse and will be hitting members’ mailboxes any day now.
November 12, 2025 at 3:52 PM
Really pleased with how this year's cover art came out and excited to finally be holding the program in my hands!! Time to flip through and highlight more sessions than I will possibly be able to attend
Reposted by Becky West
Reminds me of pro-slavery southern voices before the civil war, like John C Calhoun.
They worried about new “free states” joining the union, and losing their majority in the senate—
They worried about new “free states” joining the union, and losing their majority in the senate—
Trump: "They're gonna make DC a state and they're gonna make Puerto Rico a state. So now they pick up two states, four senators. They're gonna pick up electoral votes. It's gonna be a very, very bad situation. Now, if we do what I'm saying, they'll most likely never obtain power."
November 5, 2025 at 10:49 PM
Reminds me of pro-slavery southern voices before the civil war, like John C Calhoun.
They worried about new “free states” joining the union, and losing their majority in the senate—
They worried about new “free states” joining the union, and losing their majority in the senate—
Hey that's me!
The AHA annual meeting artwork is always a celebration of the host city. In #AHAPerspectives, Rebecca L. West shares how she incorporated a view of Chicago from Ohio Street Beach and a Frank Lloyd Wright mural concept in this year’s design. Check out the artwork and register for #AHA26 today! 🗃️
Creating the Artwork for AHA26 – AHA
AHA marketing coordinator Rebecca L. West explains the creative process of designing this year’s annual meeting artwork.
www.historians.org
September 23, 2025 at 10:51 PM
Hey that's me!
Reposted by Becky West
This January, @danieljstory.bsky.social, Alexandra Levy, and I are once again co-leading @historians.org's Sinclair Podcast Workshops.
Do you have a history pod idea you want to vet with a small group? Pitch us for Developmental Conversations! Deadline 12/1/25.
docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
Do you have a history pod idea you want to vet with a small group? Pitch us for Developmental Conversations! Deadline 12/1/25.
docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
September 17, 2025 at 6:48 PM
This January, @danieljstory.bsky.social, Alexandra Levy, and I are once again co-leading @historians.org's Sinclair Podcast Workshops.
Do you have a history pod idea you want to vet with a small group? Pitch us for Developmental Conversations! Deadline 12/1/25.
docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
Do you have a history pod idea you want to vet with a small group? Pitch us for Developmental Conversations! Deadline 12/1/25.
docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
Reposted by Becky West
#AHAReads is wrapping up for another summer. Thanks to all who participated. I always love hearing about what folks are reading and enjoying. 🗃️
AHA Reads 2025: Challenge Complete!
Find out what AHA members and staff have been reading to fulfill the fourth annual AHA Summer Reading Challenge.
www.historians.org
September 5, 2025 at 2:19 PM
#AHAReads is wrapping up for another summer. Thanks to all who participated. I always love hearing about what folks are reading and enjoying. 🗃️
Reposted by Becky West
trains are such a great example of how the future is here, if we want it and are willing to subsidize it
It’s over 1,000km from Berlin to Paris
There’s now a direct daytime train between them, that takes 8 hours and costs just €59. Leave at 10am, arrive 6pm.
And… it’s just 1% the carbon emissions of the equivalent flight
www.euronews.com/travel/2024/...
There’s now a direct daytime train between them, that takes 8 hours and costs just €59. Leave at 10am, arrive 6pm.
And… it’s just 1% the carbon emissions of the equivalent flight
www.euronews.com/travel/2024/...
High-speed Paris-Berlin daily train service debuts
The route is the first directly linking the two capitals' city centres.
www.euronews.com
January 2, 2025 at 2:10 PM
trains are such a great example of how the future is here, if we want it and are willing to subsidize it
Reposted by Becky West
@jasperjsmith.bsky.social and @katiemangan.bsky.social have been all over the George Mason U. DOJ investigations since they began. Today they broke some news @chronicle.com: GMU president Gregory Washington is digging his heels in and won't be apologizing for DEI work. #HigherEd #AcademicSky
GMU President Refuses to Apologize for Diversity Efforts, Lawyer Calls Ed. Dept. Claims ‘Absurd’
In a 10-page letter, Gregory Washington’s lawyer says the Trump administration conducted an incomplete and haphazard investigation full of “gross mischaracterizations.”
www.chronicle.com
August 25, 2025 at 8:46 PM
@jasperjsmith.bsky.social and @katiemangan.bsky.social have been all over the George Mason U. DOJ investigations since they began. Today they broke some news @chronicle.com: GMU president Gregory Washington is digging his heels in and won't be apologizing for DEI work. #HigherEd #AcademicSky
Fall 2025 semester let's goooooo
August 25, 2025 at 10:57 PM
Fall 2025 semester let's goooooo
Reposted by Becky West
We talked to @igd.bsky.social about the ongoing resistance and mutual aid efforts happening in DC as the military and federal police occupy our city. Check it out! itsgoingdown.org/whole-city-f...
“The Whole City is Fighting Back”: Remora House on Grassroots Resistance to Military Occupation in DC
For the last several weeks, federal agents and National Guard troops have flooded the streets of Washington DC, setting up an authoritarian occupation of the city; harassing residents, dismantling hom...
itsgoingdown.org
August 25, 2025 at 3:31 PM
We talked to @igd.bsky.social about the ongoing resistance and mutual aid efforts happening in DC as the military and federal police occupy our city. Check it out! itsgoingdown.org/whole-city-f...
Another #AHAReads pick done! Despite the title of Charlie English’s “The CIA Book Club: The Secret Mission to Win the Cold War with Forbidden Literature,” the book really focuses on the Polish Solidarity movement, making it perfect for the “history of a resistance movement” task.
July 12, 2025 at 6:11 PM
Another #AHAReads pick done! Despite the title of Charlie English’s “The CIA Book Club: The Secret Mission to Win the Cold War with Forbidden Literature,” the book really focuses on the Polish Solidarity movement, making it perfect for the “history of a resistance movement” task.
Reposted by Becky West
We’re almost halfway through this year’s AHA Summer Reading Challenge — but there’s still plenty of time to join in! Check out our roundup of what participants read in June for inspiration. #AHAReads 📚
AHA Reads 2025: First Month Complete!
Find out what AHA members, Council, and staff have been reading to fulfill the fourth annual AHA Summer Reading Challenge.
www.historians.org
July 11, 2025 at 5:06 PM
We’re almost halfway through this year’s AHA Summer Reading Challenge — but there’s still plenty of time to join in! Check out our roundup of what participants read in June for inspiration. #AHAReads 📚
Reposted by Becky West
It’s appropriate that, on this especially fraught holiday weekend, my 232nd #ScholarSunday thread is my longest yet, full of so much public scholarly writing, podcasts, new & forthcoming books from the last week. Add more below, share widely, & enjoy! 🗃️
americanstudier.substack.com/p/scholarsun...
americanstudier.substack.com/p/scholarsun...
#ScholarSunday Thread 232
Published on July 6, 2025
americanstudier.substack.com
July 6, 2025 at 12:09 PM
It’s appropriate that, on this especially fraught holiday weekend, my 232nd #ScholarSunday thread is my longest yet, full of so much public scholarly writing, podcasts, new & forthcoming books from the last week. Add more below, share widely, & enjoy! 🗃️
americanstudier.substack.com/p/scholarsun...
americanstudier.substack.com/p/scholarsun...
I loved talking to the folks restoring and preserving some of the DC area's most iconic historic buildings for this piece. The Folklife Festival runs through July 7, make sure to go see these immensely talented craftspeople if you're attending! (And drink lots of water and wear sunscreen!)
AHA marketing coordinator @rebeccawest.bsky.social wrote about the intersection of historic preservation and traditional building trades for the Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage ahead of their 2025 Folklife Festival, which will highlight craftspeople in those trades 🗃️:
The Monumental Work of Historic Preservation in the Building Trades
Their crafts, passed down through generations, seemed to me to be not only a set of skills but a type of historical knowledge.
festival.si.edu
July 3, 2025 at 3:08 PM
I loved talking to the folks restoring and preserving some of the DC area's most iconic historic buildings for this piece. The Folklife Festival runs through July 7, make sure to go see these immensely talented craftspeople if you're attending! (And drink lots of water and wear sunscreen!)
Reposted by Becky West
LAURA IS SUCH A GREAT PERSON AND ALSO A CREDIT TO OUR PROFESSION AND ALSO AN AMAZING LEADER OF HISTORIANS AND ALSO HOORAY
Today I start a new position as Director of Publications at @historians.org.
When I joined the AHA in 2019, I did not imagine I'd still be here in 2025. I'm lucky to have colleagues who helped find ways for my role to grow with me, and I'm thrilled to continue working with our amazing pubs team.
When I joined the AHA in 2019, I did not imagine I'd still be here in 2025. I'm lucky to have colleagues who helped find ways for my role to grow with me, and I'm thrilled to continue working with our amazing pubs team.
July 1, 2025 at 10:43 PM
LAURA IS SUCH A GREAT PERSON AND ALSO A CREDIT TO OUR PROFESSION AND ALSO AN AMAZING LEADER OF HISTORIANS AND ALSO HOORAY
For the material culture task I read Skirts by Kimberly Chrisman-Campbell -- I loved learned about the "hemline wars" and the a lot of social and cultural forces behind what's in my closet! #AHAReads www.goodreads.com/book/show/59...
June 30, 2025 at 3:16 PM
For the material culture task I read Skirts by Kimberly Chrisman-Campbell -- I loved learned about the "hemline wars" and the a lot of social and cultural forces behind what's in my closet! #AHAReads www.goodreads.com/book/show/59...