Indiana University faculty to edit leading history journals
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Two of the nation's premier journals of history, both of them edited at Indiana University Bloomington, have announced the appointment of new editors.
The Council of the American Historical Association has appointed Alex Lichtenstein, professor of history at IU Bloomington, to the position of editor of the American Historical Review. Lichtenstein will begin his term in the fall of 2017.
The Organization of American Historians announced that Benjamin H. Irvin, associate professor at the University of Arizona, will edit the Journal of American History. As executive editor for the Organization of American Historians, Irvin will be an associate professor of history at IU Bloomington and will also oversee The American Historian and Process -- A Blog for American History. His term also starts in the fall of 2017.
The American Historical Review is the official publication of the American Historical Association and has served as the journal of record for the historical discipline in the United States since 1895. The American Historical Review publishes articles that are new in content and interpretation and that contribute significantly to historical knowledge.
Lichtenstein teaches U.S. and South African history. His research centers on the intersection of labor history and the struggle for racial justice in societies shaped by white supremacy, especially the southern United States and apartheid South Africa. He served as the American Historical Review's associate editor in 2014-15 and as interim editor in 2015-16.
“I am thrilled to edit the journal,” he said. “I enjoyed my term as interim editor, but the AHA’s and IU’s vote of confidence allows me to innovate and think more about the journal's long-term direction.”
Lichtenstein follows IU professor of history Robert A. Schneider, whose tenure as editor spanned from 2005 to 2015 and who serves as interim editor during the transitional year 2016-17. During Schneider’s term, the American Historical Review increased its scholarly impact while remaining the most cited peer-reviewed journal in the historical discipline.
Irvin, who will take over as executive editor with the Bloomington, Indiana-based Organization of American Historians, is a social and cultural historian of British North America and the early United States. At the University of Arizona, he also is a faculty affiliate of the Department of Gender and Women’s Studies, the Institute for LGBT Studies, and the James E. Rogers College of Law. His research primarily concerns the era of the American Revolution.
“The articles and reviews published in the JAH represent the very best scholarship in the field.” Irvin said. “I am excited to participate in the editorial process and honored to serve our authors and readers.”
The Journal of American History is the leading scholarly publication and the journal of record in American history. It publishes articles, interchanges, states-of-the-field and the annual Organization of American Historians presidential address as well as reviews of books, digital history projects, exhibits and movies. In addition to print issues, the journal creates a wide range of online and special projects.
The Organization of American Historians, headquartered at Indiana University Bloomington, is the oldest and largest professional organization devoted to the teaching, scholarship and presentation of American history
Irvin succeeds Edward T. Linenthal, professor of history at IU Bloomington, who served as Organization of American Historians executive from 2005 until this year. Stephen D. Andrews is interim editor for 2016-17.
In addition to being housed at Indiana University and edited by IU Bloomington faculty, both journals have trained dozens of IU graduate students as editorial assistants.
