Call For Pitches: The Losses

National Photo Company Collection, 1920, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

“But you could go work for the government! Or museums—maybe a non-profit?”

Grad students and adjuncts leaving academic history in the United States have often gotten the above advice from well-meaning folks inside and outside of higher ed. Many have followed that advice to great success–or at least to steady employment. Other historians chose those paths freely and intentionally, building robust careers and deep networks. Still more contingent historians working inside academia depend on federal funding to support their work, both individually and in collaboration.

But all of that has changed.

Contingent is now accepting pitches for our roundtable The Losses, which will examine the way contingent historians and those working outside of academe have been affected by the recent changes in federal funding for historical work. This can include historians who worked (or still work) for the government, or those whose jobs or projects were (or are) supported by federal funding. Excellent work is being done to report on the effects of these cuts and pressure campaigns; this roundtable seeks to give those affected the opportunity to speak, in their own voices, about what this has meant for them as historians, as workers, and as people.

Pieces for this roundtable will be 400-500 words; compensation is $150.

To pitch, please use the form at the bottom of our Pitch Us page, selecting “LOSS” from the dropdown menu. Pitches are due by April 27; acceptances will be sent the following week. The roundtable will appear in June.