To celebrate the re-launch of Humanities Research Journal later this year we are inviting submissions for a special issue on the topic of ‘Public Humanities of the Future: Museums, Archives, Universities and Beyond’ (working title). Special issue of Humanities Research Journal Edited by Frank Bongiorno, Kylie Message and Robert Wellington.
Contributions are invited that explore the role, responsibilities and challenges of the humanities in 2022 and beyond through a lens of public cultural institutions, such as (but not restricted to) museums, archives, and universities. Contributors are asked to reflect on what are “the Humanities of the Future?” and how can our public institutions and disciplines engage ethically and meaningfully with the challenges of contemporary life?
This high-profile publication marks a number of historic moments, including the increasing urgency of the humanities in contemporary life, as well as the rapid development of interdisciplinary, environmental, medical, digital and public humanities over the last decade, and the opportunities for international collaboration reflected in the post-COVID 19 resumption of international travel in 2022. It also marks the fiftieth-year anniversary of the Humanities Research Centre at the Australian National University, which will be celebrated in 2024. The publication takes, as a particular point of reflection, Humanities Research Journal’s special issues in 2001 and 2002 dedicated to examining ‘the museum of the future’. It does not dwell on the past, however, but seeks to understand how the conception and practice of humanities research is developing both in and beyond, and with partners and communities beyond the university context. We encourage collaborative pieces, inter- and multi-disciplinary pieces, and submissions that reflect the full scope of public humanities research socially, politically, economically and culturally, across diverse countries, contexts, disciplines and fields.
We are particularly interested in submissions that engage critically with the role that institutions like universities, museums and archives play in communities and broader public imaginaries.
About the Journal Humanities Research is a peer-reviewed, open access, annual journal that promotes outstanding and innovative, interdisciplinary, and multidisciplinary scholarship to advance critical knowledge about the human world and society. This volume will provide the journal’s high-profile re-launch issue. The future is yours.
Due Dates: Title, 400 word abstract, 6 keywords, and 80 word author bio due 1 July 2022 to: Kylie.Message@anu.edu.au.
Notification of abstract acceptance: 31 July, 2022.
Full paper submission: 01 November 2022.
Depending on format, articles of about 7,000 words in length (including footnotes and references) are preferred, but shorter discussions, round-tables, graphic papers, and research or field reports will be considered. All contributions will be double peer-reviewed. We encourage potential contributors to discuss submissions with editors in advance (before 1 July deadline for abstract submission).
