The Library Journal, the largest and most respected trade publication for the library profession, has selected The Journal of the Civil War Era as one of the 10 best new periodicals of 2011. The Journal of the Civil War Era is published jointly by the George and Ann Richards Civil War Era Center in Penn State’s College of the Liberal Arts and The University of North Carolina Press.
William Blair, director of the Richards Civil War Era Center and Liberal Arts Research Professor of American History who serves as the founding editor, said the launch of the journal has exceeded expectations. It has attracted work from a wide range of scholars including emerging stars and senior people in the field.
"I am especially pleased that The Library Journal cited not only the meticulous research behind our articles but also that the work remains accessible to a general reader," Blair said.
While the editorial home for the journal is at the Richards Center on the Penn State's University Park campus, Blair indicated that the partnership with the University of North Carolina Press, a leader in academic publishing in the Civil War era, has contributed mightily to the success of the project.
"The press brings an impressive degree of professionalism to all aspects of the publication as well as a known reputation for quality with academics in the field," he said. In addition, the Journal of the Civil War Era has been adopted by the Society of Civil War Historians, providing a substantial readership base that will provide authors with visibility.
The journal features a broad range of scholarship on the Civil War era including slavery and antislavery, labor and capitalism, popular culture and intellectual history, expansionism and empire, as well as Native American, African-American, and women's history. The editors highlight flourishing research on the many issues raised by the sectional crisis, war, Reconstruction, and memory of the conflict, while bringing fresh understanding to the struggles that defined the period, and by extension, the course of American history in the 19th century.
The journal is published quarterly. Articles have included the following topics: the popular comedy in the Civil War era, the mental and physical health of Union soldiers during the Peninsular Campaign, the efforts of widows of Black Union soldiers to secure government pensions, and women's roles in domestic supply lines during the war. More information about the journal is at: http://journalofthecivilwarera.com/ online