Contact for Inquiries: Vera Parham, Vera.parham@mycampus.apus.edu, or Marc Jason Gilbert, mgilbert@hpu.edu.
World History Connected (ISSN 1931-8642), https://journals.gmu.edu/whc, has been an affiliate of the World History Association since 2003. While the submission of individual articles on any topic germane to world history are welcome at any time, the journal also invites papers suitable for a Forum, a set of 4 to 8 curated articles on a topic showcasing innovative approaches to this interdisciplinary field. This Call for Papers invites contributions to the Summer of 2023 issue’s Forum devoted to “The American West in World History,” Guest Edited by Vera Parham. Contributions may include archival research, field work, and the scholarship of teaching (while WHC does not publish lesson plans, it does feature articles that are rooted in pedagogical analysis and data gathered from classroom activities, which may contain lesson plans and examples of student activities and exercises).
Submission of articles for this Forum should be received no later than Monday, March 20, 2023 at Vera.parham@mycampus.apus.edu for consideration for publication in Summer, 2023 (see also below).
About the Forum
While the history of the American West is an important topic for historians of the United States, it plays a much broader role in World History that is often overlooked. The landscape represents stewardship for its Indigenous people, opportunity for thousands of immigrants, conquest for empires, exploitation for those seeking its natural riches, and spheres of cultural devastation as well as struggles for cultural preservation and political representation. The American West has played an enormous role in the development of our global world economically, culturally, and socially. As of today, the state of California is the fifth largest economy in the world.
This forum seeks to situate the American West in a broader global view, highlighting the role the lands and people have played in global change. This forum focuses on all communities in the American West, broadly defined in geographic scope. Submissions can be varied but should focus on the impact of Western North America and the Pacific on World History. Submissions might utilize the lenses of economics, trade, colonization and post-colonialism, cultural revitalization, gender, and identity and beyond. Submissions can include original research, articles on pedagogical approaches for using the American West in world history courses, and research-based explorations of current events and struggles in the American West. Teaching plans, embedded in broader historical research and means of gaining access to research are also encouraged. Submissions that focus on marginalized voices in history are highly encouraged.
As envisioned by Guest Editor Vera Parham, this Forum will assist in the ongoing effort to broaden the scope of World History by decentralizing the narrative from major nation states and empires to the impact the region of the American West has had on the globe. In both research and practice, histories located in the West can be used to highlight individual agency and decision-making, challenge meta narratives, and identify how communities and individuals understood and reacted to broad global-scale events. Focusing on the American West supports broader world historical research and builds pedagogical creativity in the world history classroom.
Submission of articles for this Forum
Submissions of articles for consideration or questions related to this Forum should be sent via email directly to its Guest Editor, Vera Parham (Vera.parham@mycampus.apus.edu), with the subject line “WHC Submission,” followed by a last name and a short title or query. Prior to the submission of a prospective article authors are encouraged to consult its Submissions and Style Guide (https://journals.gmu.edu/index.php/whc/submission-guidelines), or risk possible delays in consideration. The journal, like all academic journals, reserves the right to decline to publish any submission.
Please note that due to the recent transition of WHC from the University of Illinois Press to George Mason University Press, World History Connected’s back issues may appear at its former website (https://worldhistoryconnected.press.uillinois.edu). You can access the first George Mason University Press published issue (WHC 19.3) at https://journals.gmu.edu/whc or by searching for “World History Connected George Mason University Press.”
About World History Connected
World History Connected is a grant-supported, open-sourced, double-blind reviewed e-journal. annually reaches 1.85 million readers (scholars and practitioners who read more than two articles) and attracts six million visits to its website. It publishes Forums, individual articles, book reviews, special features (such as its “Interview with a World Historian”), and a list of books available for review. General inquiries should be submitted to the Editor, Marc Jason Gilbert at mgilbert@hpu.edu with the subject line beginning “WHC.” Book reviews are welcome via preliminary contact with the journal’s Book Review Editor, Cynthia Ross, at Cynthia.Ross@tamuc.edu.
The journal was created to serve all those devoted to research and teaching world history. Ideally, any work in world history can be made relevant in terms of both increasing our understanding of micro- and macro-historical processes, and also contributing to classroom instruction and curriculum development. Not every article in this journal is so “connected,” but published reviews have judged it successful in achieving its dual goal in supporting and disseminating globally both archivally based research and the scholarship of teaching. It is a double-blind peer reviewed publication guided by world historians and educators devoted to growing a community of world historians by assisting prospective authors to reach the highest standards for accessible writing, referencing, and formatting, whether the article is, or is not, accepted for publication. Its editorial staff includes past presidents—and the current president-- of the World History Association as well as distinguished Advanced Placement and Master Teachers, who are all unpaid volunteers.
In addition to individual articles, book reviews, a list of books available for review, and “special” features such as interviews with world historians, the journal seeks Guest Editors who wish to create one of its curated topical sections (“Forums”) that help WHC keep as close as possible to the needs of its audience and developments in the field. The journal is published three times a year (Winter, Spring and Fall) and offers additional content through its social media editors, Angela Lee amrsleehistory@gmail.com, Suzanne Litrel (suzannemlitrel@gmail.com), and Joe Snyder (jsnyderwvu@gmail.com).