Intellectual history is the study of the history of human thought and of intellectuals, people who conceptualize, discuss, write about, and concern themselves with ideas. The investigative premise of intellectual history is that ideas do not develop in isolation from the thinkers who conceptualize and apply those ideas; thus the intellectual historian studies ideas in two contexts: (i) as abstract propositions for critical application; and (ii) in concrete terms of culture, life, and history.
Arthur Oncken Lovejoy was an American philosopher and intellectual historian, who founded the discipline known as the history of ideas with his book The Great Chain of Being (1936), on the topic of that name, which is regarded as 'probably the single most influential work in the history of ideas in the United States during the last half century'. He was elected to the American Philosophical Society in 1932. In 1940, he founded the Journal of the History of Ideas.
Isis is a quarterly peer-reviewed academic journal published by the University of Chicago Press. It covers the history of science, history of medicine, and the history of technology, as well as their cultural influences. It contains original research articles and extensive book reviews and review essays. Furthermore, sections devoted to one particular topic are published in each issue in open access. These sections consist of the Focus section, the Viewpoint section and the Second Look section.
Historical Studies in the Natural Sciences is a peer-reviewed academic journal published by the University of California Press on behalf of the Office for History of Science and Technology. It was established as Chymia in 1948, being published under than name until 1967 when it temporarily ceased publication. It resumed under Historical Studies in the Physical Sciences in 1969, renaming itself Historical Studies in the Physical and Biological Sciences in 1986 under John L. Heilbron, an acquiring its current name in 2008.
Modern Language Notes (MLN) is a peer-reviewed academic journal established in 1886 at the Johns Hopkins University, with the intention of introducing continental European literary criticism into American scholarship. The journal is published five times per year, with one issue covering each of the four languages of concern, while the fifth issue focuses on comparative literature. Each issue has its own specific sets of editors.
Reviews in American History is a quarterly peer-reviewed academic journal established in 1973 and published by the Johns Hopkins University Press. It publishes reviews of new books on the topic of American history, as well as retrospectives on influential titles of the past. All areas of American history, including political, military, economic, gender, religious, social, cultural, legal, intellectual, artistic, and philosophical, are covered. The current editor-in-chief is Ari Kelman of the University of California, Davis.
The American Catholic Philosophical Quarterly is a peer-reviewed academic journal sponsored by the American Catholic Philosophical Association. It was founded in 1927 as The New Scholasticism and adopted its current title in 1990. The journal publishes articles and book reviews covering the entire range and history of Western philosophical thought. Contributions on non-Western philosophy are also published, especially if they shed light upon issues in the Western tradition. The journal is not committed to any particular school of philosophy and contributions variously employ analytical, phenomenological, Thomistic, historical, and other methods. Nevertheless, it typically prefers contributions on topics or thinkers that are of special interest to Catholic thought. Thus, almost every issue usually carries at least one article on Thomas Aquinas. Pieces on medieval thought are well represented as well, as are essays in the philosophy of religion and philosophical theology.
American Literature is a literary journal published by Duke University Press. It is sponsored by the American Literature Section of the Modern Language Association. The current editors are Priscilla Wald and Matthew A. Taylor. The first volume of this journal was published in March 1929. Founders include Fred Lewis Pattee, among others.
World Archaeology is a peer-reviewed academic journal covering all aspects of archaeology. It was established in 1969 and originally published triannually by Routledge & Kegan Paul. In 2004 it changed to a quarterly publication schedule while remaining under the Routledge imprint.
Social Science History is a quarterly peer-reviewed academic journal. It is the official journal of the Social Science History Association. Its articles bring an analytic, theoretical, and often quantitative approach to historical evidence. Its editors-in-chief are Anne McCants and Kris Inwood of Guelph University.
Modern Language Quarterly (MLQ), established in 1940, is a quarterly, literary history journal, produced (housed) at the University of Washington and published by Duke University Press. The current editor is Jeffrey Todd Knight. Marshall Brown was the editor from 1993 to 2021.
German Politics and Society (GP&S) is a peer-reviewed academic journal published by Berghahn edited by Jeffrey J. Anderson. It explores issues in contemporary Germany from the conjoined perspectives of the social sciences, history, and cultural studies, and provides a forum for critical analysis and debate about politics, history, film, literature, visual arts, and popular culture. Every issue presents contributions by scholars commenting on recent books about Germany.
Historical Reflections is a peer-reviewed academic journal of history published by Berghahn Books. Established in 1974, the journal publishes articles in both English and French. HR/RH promotes interdisciplinary and comparative scholarship, including historical approaches to the intersection of art, literature, and the social sciences, as well as mentalities and intellectual and religious movements. The editor-in-chief is independent scholar Elisabeth Macknight. The co-editor is Brian Newsome of Georgia College & State University.
Sartre Studies International is a journal published by Berghahn Books in association with the United Kingdom Sartre Society and North American Sartre Society, and focuses on the philosophical, literary and political issues originating in existentialism, and explores the continuing vitality of existentialist and Sartrean ideas in contemporary society and culture. Each issue contains a reviews section and a notice board of current events, such as conferences, publications and media broadcasts linked to Jean Paul Sartre's life, work and intellectual legacy. It is edited conjointly by John Gillespie, Katherine Morris, John Ireland, and Constance Mui.
The Journal of African History (JAH) is a triannual peer-reviewed academic journal. It was established in 1960 and is published by Cambridge University Press. It was among the first specialist journals to be devoted to African history and archaeology and was founded by John Fage and Roland Oliver. As stated on the journal's website:
The Journal of African History (JAH) publishes articles and book reviews ranging widely over the African past, from ancient times to the present. Historical approaches to all time periods are welcome. The thematic range is equally broad, covering social, economic, political, cultural, and intellectual history. Recent articles have explored diverse themes including: labour and class, gender and sexuality, health and medicine, ethnicity and race, migration and diaspora, nationalism and state politics, religion and ritual, and technology and the environment.
Acadiensis: Journal of the History of the Atlantic Region is a semi-annual peer-reviewed academic journal covering the history of Atlantic Canada. The current editors-in-chief are Erin Morton and Peter Twohig. It is published by the Department of History at the University of New Brunswick, with articles in either English or French. The name Acadiensis originated with an earlier periodical with the same name, a general interest quarterly magazine for the Maritime provinces, with an emphasis on local history. It was published in Saint John, New Brunswick by David Russell Jack from 1901 to 1908 but failed due to insufficient financial support.
The International History Review is a peer-reviewed academic journal covering the history of international relations and the history of international thought published by Routledge. It was established in 1978 by Edward Ingram, Gordon Martel and Ian Muggridge; the current editor-in-chief is Alan Dobson.
The Small Axe Project is an integrated publication undertaking devoted to Caribbean intellectual and artistic work, exercised over three platforms—Small Axe; sx salon, and sx visualities—each with a different structure, medium, and practice.
Prooftexts: A Journal of Jewish Literary History is a triannual peer-reviewed academic journal in the field of Jewish literature. It was established in 1981 and is published by Indiana University Press. The editors-in-chief are Barry Scott Wimpfheimer and Wendy Zierler.
History of European Ideas is a peer-reviewed academic journal covering the intellectual history of Europe from the Renaissance onwards. It was established in 1980 and is published by Routledge. The editor-in-chief is Richard Whatmore.
