From ahr-skills
Helps historians decide if a project fits the American Historical Review and how to frame its significance for a generalist audience.
How this skill is triggered — by the user, by Claude, or both
Slash command
/ahr-skills:ahr-topic-selectionThe summary Claude sees in its skill listing — used to decide when to auto-load this skill
The AHR is the **flagship general-interest journal of the historical profession**. The bar is not "new
The AHR is the flagship general-interest journal of the historical profession. The bar is not "new to specialists in my field" — it is "matters to historians broadly." With an acceptance rate around 8–10%, fit and significance are decided early. Use this skill to pressure-test a project before you invest more archive time.
A strong AHR article usually clears all four:
ahr-historiography-positioning).ahr-sources-and-archives).| If your work is… | reach the discipline by… |
|---|---|
| Deeply local / regional | drawing the general process or concept the case illuminates |
| About a single period | showing what it revises about how we periodize or interpret broadly |
| On a non-Western field | speaking to themes others can use — the AHR actively encourages Africa, Asia, Oceania, Latin America, and the Middle East |
| Methodologically novel | showing what new historical understanding the method yields, not method for its own sake |
【Question】one sentence
【Significance】who outside the subfield should care, and why
【Intervention】revision / reframing / recovery / corrected record
【Source basis】the primary materials it rests on
【Fit verdict】strong / needs reframing / better fit elsewhere (why)
【Next】ahr-historiography-positioning
../../resources/external_tools.md — archives and databases by field../../resources/official-source-map.md — AHR scope, global remit, acceptance ratenpx claudepluginhub brycewang-stanford/awesome-journal-skills --plugin ahr-skillsEvaluates history manuscripts for fit with The American Historical Review, including argument significance, historiographical framing, and desk-reject heuristics.
Routes AHR manuscript work to the correct sub-skill based on the article lifecycle stage, from topic selection through revision.
Evaluates whether an art-history project fits The Art Bulletin's scope and how to frame its contribution for a generalist audience.