Medieval Forum, the online medieval literary journal, has announced that its sixth issue will be its last, as the editor, George W. Tuma, is retiring.
Six issues doesn't seem like much, and the journal has only been around since 2002. Normally, the demise of an occasionally-published, non-peer reviewed journal that lasted for only a few years wouldn't be newsworthy, but MF was a trail-blazer in the internet wilderness. Scholars (and tenure & promotion committees) continue to be suspicious of online journals, so the creation of, editing of and submission to an online journal can be an act of scholarly courage, particularly when the work being edited/submitted is might find publication in a traditional bound paper venue.
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Would you consider picking up the gauntlet and editing this type of online journal? You value, and I believe you would be good at, this type of public-intellectual work.
ReplyDeleteHmmm, that's a good question; I never really thought about it. I'd say I might be willing to, though I would probably try to do it as a peer-reviewed journal, which would mean I'd need a full set of medieval literary scholars to be on the editorial board. It seems to me that in the 5 short years since MF was created, online work might be considered less risky, and one might be able to put together a peer-reviewed publication.
ReplyDeleteIf I were a Medieval scholar, I'd be interested in helping ... but I'm just a dilettante.
ReplyDeleteJeffery Hodges
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