Member Taxonomy
In order to better know and support our members’ professional interests, as well as to collect data on trends in the discipline, we ask historians to provide us with information about their fields of study and teaching when they join or renew.
Below is the member taxonomy, developed in 2014 by AHA president Jan Goldstein and a small subcommittee of Council members after consultation with colleagues in a wide range of fields. The taxonomy includes Temporal/Geographic and Thematic categories.
Temporal/Geographic Categories
Asia | Australasia and Oceania | Middle East (West Asia) and North Africa | Africa | Europe | The Americas
Asia |
Ancient Near East (West Asia) Central Asia Early Central Asia to c. 750 CE Precolonial Central Asia, c. 750-1750 Modern Central Asia since 1750 China Ancient China Early Imperial China, Qin-Han Period of Division and Early Tang China, 220-755 Middle Imperial China, 755-1368 Late Imperial China, 1368-1912 Republic of China, 1912-49 People's Republic of China since 1949 Hong Kong, Macao, and/or Taiwan Japan Premodern Japan to c. 1600 Early Modern Japan, c. 1600-1868 Modern Japan since 1868 Meiji Japan, 1868-1912 Imperial Japan, 1905-45 Postwar Japan, 1945-89 Contemporary Japan since 1990s |
Korea Ancient Korea to the Rise of Koryo Medieval Korea, Koryo to c. 1700 Early Modern Korea, c. 1700-1876 Modern Korea, 1876-1945 Contemporary Korea since 1945 South Asia Ancient India to c. 600 CE Medieval India, c. 600-1500 Early Modern South Asian Empires and Global Economy, c. 1500-c. 1800 Modern South Asia since c. 1700 Modern India Sri Lanka Pakistan and/or Bangladesh Afghanistan, Nepal, Bhutan, and/or Maldives Southeast Asia Early Southeast Asia to c. 1300 Middle Period Southeast Asia, c. 1300-c. 1800 Southeast Asia since 1800 Burma Thailand Vietnam, Cambodia, and/or Laos Malaysia, Singapore, and/or Brunei Indonesia and/or Timor Leste Philippines |
Australasia and Oceania |
Australia New Zealand |
Pacific Islands Antarctica |
Middle East (West Asia) and North Africa |
Middle East (West Asia)/North Africa, 600-1300 Middle East (West Asia)/North Africa, 1300-1800 Middle East (West Asia)/North Africa since 1800 Maghreb (North Africa) Mashreq (Arab East) |
Arabian Peninsula Ottoman Empire Turkey Iran Egypt/Sudan Israel/Palestine |
Africa |
Africa to 1500 Africa, 1500-1850 Africa since 1850 East Africa Equatorial Africa |
North Africa (Maghreb) Northeast Africa Southern Africa Trans-Saharan Africa West Africa |
Europe |
Mediterranean Prehistory Greece and Mediterranean to 323 BCE Hellenistic and Imperial Greek World Rome and Italy to 31 BCE Roman Empire Late Antiquity Byzantium Early Middle Ages, 400-1000 British Isles, 400-1000 Gaul and Francia, 400-1000 Central and Eastern Europe, 400-1000 Scandinavia, 400-1000 Iberian Peninsula, 400-1000 Italy, 400-1000 Balkans, 400-1000 Later Middle Ages, 1000-1500 British Isles, 1000-1500 France, 1000-1500 Low Countries, 1000-1500 Central and Eastern Europe, 1000-1500 Scandinavia, 1000-1500 German Lands, 1000-1500 Iberian Peninsula, 1000-1500 Italy, 1000-1500 Balkans, 1000-1500 Renaissance Early Modern Europe, 1500-1800 British Isles, 1500-1800 France, 1500-1800 Low Countries, 1500-1800 Spain and Portugal, 1500-1800 Italian States, 1500-1800 German Lands, 1500-1800 Scandinavia, 1500-1800 Eastern Europe, 1500-1800 Balkans, 1500-1800 Russia, 1500-1800 |
Modern Europe, 1750-1914 Britain and Ireland, 1750-1914 France, 1750-1914 Low Countries, 1750-1914 Spain and Portugal, 1750-1914 Italy, 1750-1914 German-speaking Central Europe, 1750-1914 Scandinavia, 1750-1914 Eastern Europe, 1750-1914 Balkans, 1750-1914 Russia, 1750-1914 Europe in the Era of the Two World Wars, 1914-45 Britain and Ireland, 1914-45 France, 1914-45 Low Countries, 1914-45 Spain and Portugal, 1914-45 Italy, 1914-45 German-speaking Central Europe, 1914-45 Scandinavia, 1914-45 Eastern Europe, 1914-45 Balkans, 1914-45 Soviet Union, 1914-45 Contemporary Europe since 1945 Britain and Ireland since 1945 France since 1945 Low Countries since 1945 Spain and Portugal since 1945 Italy since 1945 German-speaking Central Europe since 1945 Scandinavia since 1945 Eastern Europe since 1945 Balkans since 1945 Soviet Union and Russia since 1945 Post-Soviet Nationalities since 1945 European Union |
The Americas |
Native American/Indigenous Precontact Native American/Indigenous Colonial Period Native American/Indigenous 19th-Century Native American/Indigenous Native American since 1900 Latin America Precontact/Indigenous Latin America South American Conquest and Early European Settlement Spanish America, 1680-1760 Reform and Expansion in Spanish America, 1760-1800 19th-Century Latin America Latin America since 1900 Brazil Precontact/Indigenous Brazil Colonial Brazil Imperial Brazil, 1822-89 Republican Brazil since 1889 Mexico Precontact/Indigenous Mexico Colonial Mexico National Mexico Central America Precontact/Indigenous Central America Colonial Central America National Central America Andes Southern Cone Caribbean Precontact/Indigenous Caribbean Early Colonial Caribbean Slavery and Aftermath Caribbean National Caribbean |
Early and Colonial North America Precontact/Indigenous North America European Discovery and Exploration of North America British Politics and Administration of North America Colonial North America Colonial New England Middle Colonies Colonial Chesapeake Colonial Lower South French and Dutch Colonies Colonial Spanish Borderlands Canada Exploration and Settlement to 1763 Colonial Period, 1760-1870 Dominion Period, 1870-1921 Canada since 1921 French and British Canada Atlantic Canada Prairie Provinces British Columbia Quebec United States American Revolution, 1756-83 United States, 1783-1815 United States, 1815-50 United States, 1850-77 United States, 1877-1920 United States, 1920-45 United States, 1945-75 United States since 1975 US Northeast US South US Great Plains and Borderlands US Midwest US West |
Thematic Categories
Note: The slash symbol (/) means and/or
African American Agrarian/Rural Animals Archaeology Art/Architecture/Design Asian American Atlantic World Biography Borderlands Capitalism Cartography Chicano(a)/Latino(a) Childhood and Youth Citizenship/National Identity/Nationalism Comparative Cultural Demography Diasporas Digital Methods Diplomatic/International Disability Economic/Business Education Emotions/Senses Empire Environmental Ethnohistory Family Film/Media/Photography Food and Foodways Gender Genocide Historiography/Historical Theory and Method History Teaching and Learning Iberian World Indian Ocean World |
Indigenous Intellectual Jewish Labor Legal LGBTQ Local Maritime Material Culture Medicine/Disease/Public Health Mediterranean World Memory Studies Migration/Immigration Military Music Oral Pacific World Peace and Conflict Political Popular Culture Postcolonial Print Culture/History of the Book Public Quantitative Methods Race and Ethnicity Religion Science Sexuality Slavery Social Social Movements Sports Technology Transnational Urban Women World/Global |