The Society for French Historical Studies: The early years

The Society for French Historical Studies (SFHS) originated out of a double context. A first concern was that French history per se was not getting its due, either in the American historical profession (American Historical Association, history journals) or in the public eye. At the same time, the women and men who founded the society wanted to distinguish it from the Modern Language Association, insisting that it be a historical society and that the word historical be in its name. We trace the society from its beginnings in the mid-1950s through the early 1970s, when the annual conferences took on the basic form we know today, and we speculate on gender differences and the meaning of World War 11 for the American practice of contemporary French history. Serving as a stimulating meeting point for North American historians of France, the SFHS has also, since the beginning, maintained close relations with French scholars, even when historiographical approaches or methods may have varied.