The second largest scholarly journal in the field of history is now housed at USF St. Petersburg. The Historian is a globally-recognized and distributed publication affiliated with the national history honors society – Phi Alpha Theta – and chronicles all periods and geographic areas of history. The quarterly peer-reviewed journal receives submissions from professors and academics around the world on subjects ranging from 20th century Soviet and Japanese espionage to Greek Antiquity.
Adrian O’Connor, USFSP history professor, was selected as the new editor of this prestigious international journal. O’Connor says that housing The Historian at this campus will be a catalyst for establishing a USFSP chapter of the national history honors society, bringing with it a multitude of benefits.
“First and foremost, establishing such a chapter will provide greater opportunities for our students, from financial aid to networking opportunities with the society’s 400,000 members to presenting their own historical research at conferences.”
For one student each semester, it will give them the chance to become a paid editorial assistant for the journal. This assistant will do all the things that an editor does; reading initial submissions, determining which are high enough quality to consider for inclusion, finding experts to review manuscripts and finally proof reading through the final revision process before publication.
“They will learn how to read and edit and analyze history at the highest professional levels,” O’Connor said. “This is an opportunity for an undergraduate student that as far as I know doesn’t exist anywhere else. Such positions are usually reserved and coveted by graduate or doctoral students.”
Then there is the unique opportunity of using The Historian to teach students about the process behind developing a scholarly journal. O’Connor plans on incorporating the publishing process in history for upcoming courses – from initial idea all the way to the finished product.
O’Connor is a historian of 18th century France who focuses on the intellectual and cultural influences of the Enlightenment on the French Revolution, one of the most dynamic and tumultuous moments in modern European history. He published his first book through Manchester University Press late last year, titled “In Pursuit of Politics.” The book chronicles how changing ideas about education impacted what was possible in French politics and answers the question, why did a significant number of French political figures think representative democratic government was a good idea by the latter half of the 18th century?
Becoming editor of The Historian will now allow O’Connor to broaden his interests beyond the French Revolution era.
“One of the things that really appealed to me about the editorship was the chance to read and think about history really broadly again,” said O’Connor. “As a historian, you usually become an expert of a specific time and place. So I’m eager to be able to learn about areas of history I’m unfamiliar with and become curious again about what made history so appealing to me in the first place.”
“Having USFSP serve as the headquarters for this journal will instantly elevate our department’s growing international reputation,” added USFSP History Chair J. Michael Francis. “This kind of professional experience will enhance Adrian’s own scholarly reputation. Above all, having the journal at USFSP will provide unique and hands-on opportunities for our students, something that few institutions around the country are able to offer.”