Journal of Historical Geography

Journal of Historical Geography
Title	Journal of Historical Geography
Discipline	Historical geography
Language	English
Abbreviation	J. Hist. Geogr.
Publisher	Taylor & Francis
Country	United Kingdom
History	1975–present
Frequency	Quarterly

Journal of Historical Geography is a peer-reviewed academic journal that publishes research on the spatial dimensions of past societies, landscapes, and environments. The journal bridges scholarship associated with figures and institutions such as Carl Sauer, David Harvey, E. G. Ravenstein, Fernand Braudel, Harold Hotelling, John R. Short, Doreen Massey and engages topics linked to events and places like the Industrial Revolution, Atlantic slave trade, Scramble for Africa, Great Irish Famine, Little Ice Age, and Urban renewal. Serving readers at intersections of work produced by bodies such as the Royal Geographical Society, British Academy, American Historical Association, Institute of Historical Research and Royal Historical Society, the journal routinely addresses case studies from regions including Europe, Africa, Asia, North America, South America, Australia, and Antarctica.

History and scope

Founded in 1975 amid debates influenced by scholars like E. A. Wrigley, Peter Haggett, Merle D. Prunty and trends from movements including Annales School, the journal responded to scholarship produced at institutions such as University of Cambridge, London School of Economics, University of Oxford, University of California, Berkeley, University of Toronto and University of Chicago. Its scope encompasses research on landscapes implicated in episodes like the Neolithic Revolution, Columbian Exchange, Great Migration (African American), Maya collapse, Voyages of James Cook, and Trans-Saharan trade. Methodological contributions draw on archives held by the National Archives (UK), Library of Congress, Bibliothèque nationale de France, Vatican Library, and datasets compiled by projects such as Historical GIS initiatives at University of Portsmouth and Harvard University. The journal publishes empirical studies, theoretical essays, and historiographical reviews that intersect with collections like the Domesday Book, Tithe Apportionments, Landsat, Ordnance Survey, and the Hearth Tax Records.

Editorial information and publisher

The journal is published by Taylor & Francis on behalf of editors drawn from universities such as University of Cambridge, King's College London, University of Edinburgh, University of London, University of Manchester, University of Glasgow, Yale University, Columbia University, University of Oxford and University of St Andrews. Editorial boards have included scholars who previously worked with presses and organizations like Cambridge University Press, Oxford University Press, Routledge, Wiley-Blackwell, SAGE Publications and funders including the Arts and Humanities Research Council and the European Research Council. Special issues have been guest-edited by researchers affiliated to centers such as the Centre for Contemporary British History, Max Planck Institute for the History of Science, Smithsonian Institution, British Library, and Royal Society research programs.

Abstracting and indexing

The journal is indexed in major bibliographic services and abstracting databases managed by organizations such as Clarivate, Scopus, EBSCOhost, ProQuest, JSTOR, Directory of Open Access Journals, Google Scholar, HathiTrust, and library consortia including OCLC and Copac. It appears in citation resources like the Web of Science, subject indices produced by the International Bibliography of the Social Sciences, and specialized history and geography aggregators curated by institutions such as the Institute of Advanced Study and the National Library of Scotland.

Impact and reception

Scholars cite the journal in work related to major historiographical debates involving figures like Edward Said, Michel Foucault, J. H. Plumb, Natalie Zemon Davis, Eric Hobsbawm, and institutions such as the Economic History Society and Royal Geographical Society. Its influence is reflected in citation metrics reported by providers like Journal Citation Reports and Scimago Journal Rank, and in bibliographies compiled by programs at University College London, Princeton University, University of Michigan, and Australian National University. The journal has been central to conversations about landscape interpretation after events such as World War I, World War II, Partition of India, Mexican Revolution, Chinese Cultural Revolution, and policy debates involving the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.

Notable articles and special issues

Noteworthy articles have treated topics including mapping during the Napoleonic Wars, cartography of the British Empire, plantation landscapes in the Caribbean, urbanization and public health in Victorian London, frontier ecologies of the American West, and colonial infrastructures such as railways linked to the Suez Canal and Trans-Siberian Railway. Special issues have focused on themes tied to anniversaries of the Industrial Revolution, reassessments of the Great Depression, environmental histories of the Holocene, and centenaries like the Battle of the Somme. Contributors have included authors associated with Princeton University Press, Cambridge University Press, University of Chicago Press, and research projects backed by the National Endowment for the Humanities and Leverhulme Trust.

Access and publication formats

Published quarterly, the journal offers content in print and electronic formats distributed through platforms operated by Taylor & Francis Group, aggregated by subscribers via academic libraries such as Bodleian Library, New York Public Library, Bibliothèque nationale de France, State Library of New South Wales and accessible through indexing services including JSTOR and Project MUSE where agreements apply. Access models reflect arrangements with consortia like Knowledge Unlatched, hybrid open-access options compliant with mandates from funders such as the Wellcome Trust and European Commission, and archiving policies coordinated with repositories like Portico and the British Library.

Category:Academic journals Category:Historical geography Category:Quarterly journals