Cambridge University Press and the British Society for the History of Science (BSHS) are pleased to announce their partnership to launch a new, peer-reviewed, open access, thematic journal, for the history of science. A call for proposals for the first volume of BJHS Themes has been released, seeking thematic collections of papers that animate, provoke and inspire the scholarly community.
Each volume of the journal will be free to read online from the date of its publication. By launching the journal in this way, the BSHS and Cambridge will encourage widespread engagement with the important ideas each volume will present, stimulating public and scholarly debate that will enhance our collective understanding of science in history.To fully promote onward exploration of each volume’s theme, the journal will use a Creative Commons license that permits re-use and dissemination.
BJHS Themes’ unique offering includes a rigorous pre-publication peer-review process,consistent with the top history journals, and the society will provide support to enable all authors, regardless of their funding status, to participate.
The journal will be edited by Jon Agar of University College London, who said, “I’m delighted to be leading, as editor, this new open access journal.Too often edited collections have hidden insights, stories and analysis away from readers. I’m looking forward to hosting some great, public debates about the vital place of science in past societies and cultures.”
Greg Radick, President of the British Society for the History of Science, said, “the British Journal for the History of Science has long enjoyed a reputation around the world as one of the best journals in our field. BJHS Themes will carry on that tradition of excellence, for the benefit of a truly global readership.”
Daniel Pearce, Senior Commissioning Editor at Cambridge University Press, said, “we are delighted to be partnering with the BSHS to launch this bold new journal, breaking new ground in both history of science research and in academic publishing.”
The deadline for receiving proposals for the first volume is 31 December, 2014.
