Center
for Agricultural History
Mission Statement
The Center for Agricultural History and Rural Studies, located
at Iowa State University, is a unique scholarly organization devoted
to research, analysis, and education of historical issues pertaining
to global agricultural practices and rural life. The goal of the Center
is to promote scholarship, discussion, and awareness of the historical
basis of contemporary agrarian issues. The Center disseminates new knowledge
to media outlets, students and the general public. The Center directly
supports the research and teaching missions of the Rural and Agricultural
History doctoral program in the Department of History at Iowa State
University. It is directed by a faculty member, who is appointed by
the Chair of the Department of History at Iowa State.
History
The Center for Agricultural History and Rural Studies was established
in conjunction with the graduate program in Rural and Agricultural History.
The Center traditionally has served as a clearing house for the dissemination
of historical information about agricultural and rural history. It has
answered requests from major media outlets such as: ABC News, National
Public Radio, National Public Television, Japanese Public Television,
the New York Times, as well as many regional media organizations.
It has also routinely provided services to museums, local schools, and
the general public. The Center also has served as a focal point for
discussions of agricultural and rural history within the international
academic community. It has sponsored two visiting scholars from Australia
and New Zealand to speak at Iowa State. In the April 2004, it hosted
the "New Directions in Rural History" conference, which attracted
a contingent of leading scholars in the field. This conference was made
possible largely by a generous subsidy from the College of Liberal Arts
and Sciences. Perhaps most significantly, from 1993-2003, the Center
was the editorial home for Agricultural History, the journal
of record in the field.
Future Events
The Center is currently involved in planning the 2007 Agricultural History
Society meeting, which will take place on the Iowa State University
campus in June of 2007. As planning proceeds, more information will
be posted on this site.
Links
Agricultural History Society: www.usi.edu/libarts/history/AHS/
Agricultural History Society Annual Meeting 2006: web.mit.edu/nscb/www/ahs/
Agriculture in the Classroom: www.agclassroom.org/
Rural Women's Studies Association: www.uncp.edu/rwsa/
Library of Congress: www.loc.gov/index.html
Minnesota Historical Society: www.mnhs.org/index.htm
Wisconsin Historical Society: www.wisconsinhistory.org/
State Historical Society of Iowa: www.iowahistory.org/
Nebraska State Historical Society: www.nebraskahistory.org/
Kansas State Historical Society: www.kshs.org/
Iowa Women's Archives: www.lib.uiowa.edu/iwa/
Special Collections, Parks Library, Iowa State University: www.lib.iastate.edu/spcl/index.html
National Agricultural Library: http://nal.usda.gov/about/about_nal.shtml
United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service:
www.ers.usda.gov/
