Submission Guidelines
Articles should be 6,000–12,000 words, based in original research, historically/historiographically engaged, and fully cited using endnotes and a corresponding reference list that provides full bibliographical details for cited sources and is optimal especially for the journal’s online readers.
1. All manuscripts must be submitted online via our ScholarOne site, found here: https://mc04.manuscriptcentral.com/aghistory. Please follow the instructions closely.
2. All manuscripts should be:
- In Microsoft Word format (.doc or .docx). The file will be anonymized and converted to PDF for review.
- Double-spaced.
- No longer than 12,000 words of text, not including reference list and endnotes.
- Complete with endnotes that are also double-spaced.
- Written in accordance with the Chicago Manual of Style (17th Edition).
3. Any style questions can be answered by reference to the Chicago Manual of Style (17th Edition) or to the journal's style guide or by contacting our editorial office: [email protected].
4. Potential illustrations (jpg, tiff) should be uploaded as separate files along with the submission. Please do not embed images or tables within the manuscript.
5. Once received and evaluated as appropriate for Agricultural History, the manuscript will be sent out for double-blind peer review. Please upload a separate title page with your name and contact information, and be sure that the main document is free of any identifying information in both the text and endnotes. The peer-review process can take up to four months.
6. An accepted manuscript is usually published within a year. During this time, the author will have the opportunity to make final changes to the manuscript in response to comments from the reviewers and the editor. The editorial staff will then conduct a rigorous fact-checking and editing process. We will check every citation for accuracy, to the best of our ability given available library and interlibrary loan resources, and will copyedit the manuscript for style, organization, and clarity. The author will have the opportunity to review and approve the copyedited manuscript before publication.
7. Please send all other inquiries to [email protected].
Book Reviews:Book Reviews are typically 500–750 words. We make every effort to review all new books in agricultural history and related fields, but given the geographical and chronological scope of the journal, some books may get overlooked from time to time. If you notice such an omission, please let us know. Also, if you would like to be added to our list of reviewers, please send a note to one of our book review editors, indicating your credentials and areas of expertise. For North American topics, contact Kristin Ahlberg at [email protected]; for non–North American titles, contact Jonathan Robins at [email protected].
Featured Reviews are up to 2,000 words and typically engage more deeply with the historiographical significance or special insights a book has to offer.
Special Features:
Review Essays take a wider perspective than book reviews in order to explore an important theme in agricultural history. They may review 2–3 books as a set or survey a particular strand of literature more broadly. Review essays are typically 3,000–6,000 words in length and are editorially reviewed. If you have an interest in writing a review essay, please contact Bennett Parten at [email protected].
Forums typically take shape as a series of essays on a particular topic or question, usually more conversational in tone but maintaining rigorous argumentation and careful documentation. A forum section may follow a “call and response” model, with one lead essay and 3-4 comments; or it may include a general introduction, followed by essays of similar length focused on the matter at hand. A forum should not exceed 20,000 words total. If you have an interest in organizing a forum, please contact Drew Swanson at [email protected].
Roundtables are ideal for exploring emerging trends or revisiting old themes. They typically involve 4–6 discussants who each weigh in at least twice, in a more conversational format. Roundtables are usually conducted by email over several months and editorially reviewed. If you have an interest in organizing a roundtable, please contact Drew Swanson at [email protected].
Toolshed essays engage with methodological questions, the nuts and bolts of agricultural history. Essays may explore artifacts, sources, interpretive methods, theories, or approaches relevant to the field. Toolshed essays are typically 3,000–6,000 words and are editorially reviewed. Please submit directly to our editor: Drew Swanson at [email protected].
The Short Rows is the Agricultural History Society’s online space for members and guest scholars to comment on current affairs from their unique perspective as experts on the rural and agricultural past. We post new entries at least once a month. If you are interested in contributing, please email Sarah Phillips at [email protected], Cherisse Jones-Branch at [email protected], and Shane Hamilton at [email protected].
Special Issues:
We welcome proposals for special issues around particular themes or events in agricultural history. Please send a 250-word abstract describing the topic and the rationale for the special issue, the qualifications of the organizers, and a list of potential contributors. Special issues typically involve 4 or 5 research articles, along with an editorial introduction. Please send proposals to Andrew Baker at [email protected].