World History Bulletin | Spring 2024: "Water in World History"

World History Bulletin is seeking quality research essays, experiential learning case studies, and classroom activities for inclusion in its upcoming Spring 2024 issue, “Water in World History.”

Historians and archaeologists have for some time acknowledged the role of water management in the formation and development of civilization. The role of water in shaping human history is not limited to past experience, however. In The American Future: A History, historian Simon Schama argues that “future history” will be determined by competition for water. The Spring 2024 issue of the World History Bulletin, “Water in World History,” is dedicated to the question of how water has shaped and continues to shape the human world historical experience.

The Bulletin is interested in a range of topics related to the theme of water in world history, including:

- The role of water in nation-state formation, from earliest human times to the modern age.
- How access to water (or the lack of it) has influenced social outcomes historically, including the shaping of societies.
- How water has influenced cultural development, from religious practices among the peoples of the Indus Valley to the “water wars” of the American West.
- The role of water in determining economic outcomes, from vital oases facilitating trans-Saharan trade and the rise of the Sahelian kingdoms of West Africa to the impact of piracy in the Red Sea on modern global economies.
- Historical lessons Case studies examining how instructors have used water as a defining feature of course instruction.
- Interdisciplinarity and water in world history.
- Recent trends in water in world history research.
- Historiographies of theories and practice of water in world history.

World History Bulletin therefore invites contributions to a thematic issue on water in world history. We are especially interested in articles that share fresh research or historiographical perspectives which explore the questions of water in world history; present innovative teaching at all levels that employs techniques related to sustainability and resource availability in world history; or explore the connection between student engagement and world history as a result of coursework related to the theme “water in world history.” We also welcome short interviews with designers, artists, writers, and scholars and small roundtables on a book, film, or other work.

Submission Guidelines: Research and pedagogical articles should range between 1,500 and 8,000 words in length, including endnote text. The Bulletin accepts submissions which adhere to the style, format, and documentation requirements as outlined in the most recent edition of the Chicago Manual of Style. The Bulletin uses endnote citations, rather than footnote citations. Text of submissions should be spelled according to American English standard usage (e.g., favorite, rather than favourite). Submissions should be written in past tense, rather than the literary present, and passive voice should be avoided.

Submission Deadline: May 15, 2024

Essays and questions should be directed to Joseph M. Snyder, Editor-in-Chief of World History Bulletin, at bulletin@thewha.org.