The Southern Historical Association (SHA) is an organization of historians

History

History is the discovery, collection, organization, and presentation of information about past events. History can also mean the period of time after writing was invented. Scholars who write about history are called historians...

 focusing on the history of the Southern United States

History of the Southern United States

The history of the Southern United States reaches back hundreds of years and includes the Mississippian people, well known for their mound building. European history in the region began in the very earliest days of the exploration and colonization of North America...

 (commonly referred to as southern history). It was organized on November 2, 1934. Its objectives are the promotion of interest and research in southern history, the collection and preservation of the South

Southern United States

The Southern United States—commonly referred to as the American South, Dixie, or simply the South—constitutes a large distinctive area in the southeastern and south-central United States...

's historical records, and the encouragement of state and local historical societies in the South. As a secondary purpose the organization fosters the teaching and study of all areas of history in the South.

The SHA publishes the Journal of Southern History. The association's 2009 president was Jack Temple Kirby, who died on August 6, 2009; vice president William J. Cooper presided in his stead at the SHA's annual meeting in November 2009. John B. Boles is editor of the Journal of Southern History, and John C. Inscoe is the organization's secretary-treasurer.

The SHA maintains two permanent offices: the editorial offices, located at Rice University

Rice University

William Marsh Rice University, commonly referred to as Rice University or Rice, is a private research university located on a heavily wooded campus in Houston, Texas, United States...

, the secretary-treasurer's office, located at the University of Georgia

University of Georgia

The University of Georgia is a public research university located in Athens, Georgia, United States. Founded in 1785, it is the oldest and largest of the state's institutions of higher learning and is one of multiple schools to claim the title of the oldest public university in the United States...

.

Among the association founders was W. Darrell Overdyke

W. Darrell Overdyke

William Darrell Overdyke was an American historian known particularly for his work on 18th- and 19th-century plantation homes in his adopted state of Louisiana as well as the anti-immigration Know Nothing political party in the American South.-Background:Overdyke was born in Cherokee near...

 of Centenary College

Centenary College of Louisiana

Centenary College of Louisiana is a primarily undergraduate, liberal arts and sciences college in Shreveport, Louisiana. The college is one of the founding members of the Associated Colleges of the South, a pedagogical organization consisting of sixteen Southern liberal arts colleges...

 in Shreveport

Shreveport, Louisiana

Shreveport is the third largest city in Louisiana. It is the principal city of the fourth largest metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana and is the 109th-largest city in the United States....

, Louisiana

Louisiana

Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...

.

Past SHA presidents included Charles P. Roland

Charles P. Roland

Charles Pierce Roland is an American historian and professor emeritus of the University of Kentucky whose research specialty is in the fields of the American South and the Civil War.-Biographical sketch:...

 (1981) and Carl Degler (1986).