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By oieahc May 19, 2016

Familiar Sources and Forgotten Colonies

WMQ author Justin Roberts reflects on the unexpected route that led him to the article on British plantation management in Barbados that appears in the April issue. by Justin Roberts As I was writing my first book about British Atlantic plantation management in the late eighteenth century, I found myself burrowing back further in time with my research questions. As I… Read More

WMQ 7 min read
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By oieahc May 10, 2016

The Five-Reader Problem

by Josh Piker It will, I suspect, come as no surprise to hear that the relationship between authors and those scholars who serve as readers for article manuscripts is an ambivalent one.  I try to recruit five readers’ reports for each essay that goes out for peer review.  A not insignificant part of my job consists of finding ways… Read More

WMQ 11 min read
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By oieahc May 03, 2016

“Coming Home”

Fissiparous.  Centrifugal.  Pluralization.  A-synthetic. Comes to find that when I blog about #vastearlyamerica, my inbox fills up with fifty-cent words. Each of those words captures potential consequences of the expansive nature of our field.  Fragmentation, dispersal, diversity, scale, incoherence.  I’ve been hearing a lot about these topics since “Getting Lost?” was posted a few months… Read More

WMQ 9 min read
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By oieahc April 19, 2016

No Second Fiddle

In today’s post, WMQ author Miles P. Grier (January 2016) reflects on the editing process at the William and Mary Quarterly and how his background as a literary scholar affected that experience.   I ain’t gonna play no second fiddle / Cause I’m used to playing lead —Perry Bradford by Miles P. Grier In a 2008 Forum, published simultaneously in… Read More

WMQ 9 min read
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By Martha Howard April 12, 2016

#4ContentProviders

Tomorrow, April 13, Karin Wulf and a panel of experts in scholarly publishing will conduct a symposium at Columbia University to discuss major issues facing academic authors today. The event is open to the public and described below. You can also follow along (and/or join in) on Twitter by following #4ContentProviders. In the meantime, you may also want to read… Read More

4 min read
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By oieahc March 01, 2016

Ginseng's stimulating effect

In today’s post, WMQ (January 2016) author Christopher Parsons reflects on how the editorial process he went through with the article pushed him to reframe his understanding of the key players in the story—including the leafy one. by Christopher Parsons I know more about ginseng than I ever thought that I would, and I suspect that many of my friends and family… Read More

WMQ 7 min read
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By Josh Piker January 21, 2016

Getting Lost

Is the WMQ really in danger of “losing its way” as Gordon Wood says it is? Josh Piker looks at just what we mean when we talk about #VastEarlyAmerica and responds to that charge. Karin’s yearlong tour through #VastEarlyAmerica will be fascinating to follow, and I am very much looking forward to the conversations that ensue.  With those dialogues and debates… Read More

WMQ 15 min read
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By oieahc December 02, 2015

On (finally) seeing what’s right in front of you when it’s not what you expected

WMQ author Kirsten Fischer reflects on the process that brought her to write her forthcoming essay in the July 2016 issue of the Quarterly.   Kirsten Fischer Ever searched for the glasses that are sitting on your nose?  If that can happen when we’re looking for something we expect to find, it can be even harder to spot the… Read More

WMQ 6 min read
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By oieahc November 11, 2015

Evolving the discussion of what Columbus began

In today’s post, WMQ author Jeffrey Ostler reflects on what inspired his research and what questions he is still asking. I’m sure that most historians occasionally reflect on the paths that lead us to write the things we do. When I trace the path that led to the publication of “To Extirpate the Indians: An Indigenous Consciousness of Genocide in… Read More

WMQ 8 min read
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By oieahc September 17, 2015

"Finished" articles and life after publication

WMQ author Jeffers Lennox reflects on the life of his article “A Time and a Place” (July) post-publication. I was thrilled to learn that “A Time and a Place” had been accepted for publication by the WMQ, and, like most things I write, I haven’t read it since it went to press. I probably never will. It’s odd, but perhaps… Read More

WMQ 8 min read
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By oieahc August 28, 2015

SOVEREIGNTY, JURISDICTION, AND THE POLITICS OF CULTURAL DIFFERENCE IN EARLY AMERICA

Author Daragh Grant offers these additional reflections on "The Treaty of Hartford (1638): Reconsidering Jurisdiction in Southern New England" from the July issue of the WMQ. Read More

WMQ 11 min read
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By oieahc August 26, 2015

Unexpected finds

Author Sarah Gordon reflects what drove her to reconceive her book project—and brought her to write her piece in the July 2015 edition of the WMQ.  Read More

WMQ 8 min read
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