Public Humanities is an international open access, cross-disciplinary, peer reviewed journal at the intersection of humanities scholarship and public life. The journal invites submissions for the upcoming Themed Issue Public Humanities Across the Disciplines ,which will be Guest Edited by Neil W. Williams. The deadline for submissions is 1 January 2025.
Description
Gone are the days of the academically cloistered or “ivory tower” humanities. Today, there is broad agreement across the humanities subjects that engaging with the public, and with issues of public importance, is valuable and perhaps even necessary. But what public-engagement might mean can look quite different across the various humanities disciplines, which do not always share common concepts, assumptions, or methodologies.
In this issue of Public Humanities, we invite different disciplines to lay out their stall; to present their understandings of and approaches to the public humanities, and to reflect on the value of their subject areas to issues of public interest. We also encourage consideration of how practicing humanities in a publicly engaged way might encourage new areas of conversation and collaboration across disciplinary boundaries, or even the production of new fields of interdisciplinary research.
The issue has three main focuses:
- How different humanities subjects think about and relate to a wider public;
- How humanities subjects might collaborate across disciplinary boundaries when engaging in the public humanities;
- What work in the public humanities might offer to contemporary challenges to and pressures on the humanities subjects.
We aim to include contributions from as diverse a range of humanities disciplines as possible, and understand “public humanities” in an inclusive way, including academic work written for public use, about areas of public importance, and research done in collaboration with public groups.
The editor invites disciplinary and interdisciplinary reflections on the public humanities, including but not limited to:
- The nature and value of the “public humanities” across the humanities disciplines, or from interdisciplinary perspectives.
- The historical and/or political dimensions of the humanities’ relation with a wider public.
- How humanities subjects can or do relate to human good and/or improving public life.
- How humanities disciplines are perceived and/or utilized by a wider public.
- The inclusion of the public in humanities practice, education, and research.
- How the public humanities relate to prevalent political, social, and economic pressures on educational institutions.
- How new and emerging interdisciplinary fields of the humanities (environmental humanities, digital humanities, etc.) relate to public humanities.
- Critical reflections on definitions of “the public” or “publics” across humanities subjects.
- How public humanities might engage with emerging social or political issues.
- Challenges which face publicly engaged humanities subjects, and/or potential solutions.
- Practical reflections and case-studies on interdisciplinary approaches in public humanities
- Practical reflections and case-studies about involving the public within humanities research.
Authors have the option to submit any of the following article types:
| Article type | Length | Abstract required | Description |
| Article | 6,000-8,000 words | Yes | Presents original research findings according to the typical research article format. |
| Roundtable | No more than 4,000 words | No | Considers the current ‘state of the field’, or reflects on seminal events or processes, or explores different methodological approaches or potential avenues for future research. Workshops or conferences often provide the initial stimulus for roundtables. |
| Reflection | 1,500-3,000 words | No | A space, outside of the conventional research article, where authors can offer personal perspectives on a topic or theme. |
| Case Study | 8,000 words | Yes | An article that provides an in-depth, detailed examination of a particular case within a real-world context. |
| Position Papers & Rejoinder | No more than 4,000 words | No | An opinion-style paper that makes a clear intervention or articulates an original vision. Papers will typically publish in conversation with each other. |
| Essay | 6,000-8,000 words | Yes | A discussion paper that reflects critically on a research topic or theme, rather than presenting original research. |
Submissions should be written in accessible language for a wide readership across and beyond the humanities. Articles will be peer reviewed for both content and style. Articles will appear digitally and open access in the journal, which is published by Cambridge University Press.
All submissions should be made through the Public Humanities online peer review system. Author should consult the journal’s Author Instructions prior to submission.
All authors will be required to declare any funding and/or competing interests upon submission. See the journal’s Publishing Ethics guidelines for more information.
Contacts
Guest Editor name: Neil W. Williams
Email address: Neil.Williams@roehampton.ac.uk
Questions can be sent to the Public Humanities inbox at publichumanities@cambridge.org.