Due Date: Tuesday, November 18

The assignment is to choose one of the major journals in your own field and write a critical review of the past three years' issues (5-6 pages).

Choice of journal.

If you are in any doubt about what journal to choose, please consult with your advisor and, if you wish, with me. Some journals are too broad in their coverage to be suitable for this assignment (e.g. the American Historical Review).

Purpose of the assignment.

Journals are an essential part of the historical profession. Getting to know the major journals in your field as well as one or more overarching journals (e.g. the American Historical Review) is important for a number of reasons. Most of the time, we use journals in a practical way: to find an article on a topic, bibliographic leads, or book reviews. But journals are more than a depository for information. They--the good ones, at least--have an identity that derives from the conception of the field they represent and the communication among scholars that takes place in their pages. They reflect the state of the field and they try, in turn, to shape it.

What is a critical review?

Ask yourself the following sorts of questions. If this journal defines the state of your field, how would you describe that state? What sorts of issues are being addressed? What methods and approaches are being used? What are the major trends in interpretation? Does the journal suggest that the field is in a state of consensus or controversy? If there are major debates taking place, what are the arguments about and what is at stake?

Think of this assignment as the beginning of an ongoing process: getting to know the journals available in your field and in related fields. As part of the assignment, check to see whether this and/or any other journals in your field are available online, and consider what impact this availability (or lack of it) may have on the journal.