Pacific Historical Review

Pacific Historical Review
Title	Pacific Historical Review
Discipline	History
Abbreviation	Pac. Hist. Rev.
Publisher	University of California Press
Country	United States
Frequency	Quarterly
History	1932–present
Issn	0030-8684

Pacific Historical Review

The Pacific Historical Review is a quarterly scholarly journal established to publish research on the history of the Pacific region, western North America, and transpacific connections. Founded to serve readers interested in the histories of California, Oregon, Washington, British Columbia, Alaska, Hawaii and the broader Pacific Ocean basin, the journal situates regional studies within comparative frameworks that engage global contexts such as the Spanish Empire, Mexican–American War, Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, Philippine–American War, and Transpacific relations. The journal has been associated with major institutions and figures including the University of California, the Bancroft Library, California Historical Society, and scholars who have worked on topics from the California Gold Rush to Japanese American internment.

History

The journal was founded during the interwar period with ties to the Pacific Coast Branch, American Historical Association and intellectual networks that included the American Historical Association, the Organization of American Historians, and regional societies like the Western History Association. Early editorial influence drew on archivists and historians connected to the Bancroft Library, the California State Library, and the Huntington Library, engaging debates shaped by events such as the Mexican Revolution, the aftermath of the Spanish–American War, and scholarly responses to the Great Depression. Over subsequent decades issues reflected research stimulated by landmark works on the California Gold Rush, the Oregon Trail, the expansion of the Transcontinental Railroad, and diplomatic episodes like the Anglo-Japanese Alliance and the United States occupation of Japan. Editorial transitions have involved historians affiliated with the University of California, Berkeley, Stanford University, University of Washington, University of Southern California, and the University of Hawaii at Manoa.

Scope and coverage

The journal's scope encompasses cultural, political, social, economic, and environmental histories tied to the Pacific Rim, including comparative studies involving China, Japan, Korea, Philippines, Southeast Asia, Australia, and New Zealand. Articles have engaged themes such as migration and labor linking the Chinese Exclusion Act to transpacific labor flows, the role of Manila galleons in early modern commerce, and interactions between Indigenous polities like the Haida, Tlingit, Nuu-chah-nulth, and settler societies shaped by treaties such as the Treaty of Tordesillas in broader imperial frameworks. The journal routinely publishes scholarship on urbanization in San Francisco, agricultural transformations in Central Valley (California), conservation debates involving the National Park Service, and legal contests invoking precedents from the Supreme Court of the United States and statutes like the Homestead Act.

Editorial board and peer review

The editorial board has historically included scholars with appointments at institutions such as University of California, Los Angeles, University of California, Davis, University of California, Santa Barbara, California State University, Long Beach, Claremont Graduate University, Pomona College, Occidental College, Loyola Marymount University, Brigham Young University, University of Oregon, University of British Columbia, and McGill University. Peer review practices follow the standards advocated by professional bodies like the American Historical Association and the Modern Language Association with double-blind review for research articles and editorial oversight for review essays and book reviews. The board has commissioned forums on topics tied to events such as the Asia-Pacific War, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, and anniversaries of the Pearl Harbor attack.

Publication and distribution

Published by the University of California Press on a quarterly schedule, the journal distributes through academic consortia, university libraries including the Library of Congress, and digital platforms maintained by presses and repositories. Institutional subscriptions are held by major research libraries at the University of California system, Harvard University, Yale University, Princeton University, Columbia University, Stanford University, and international holdings at the National University of Singapore, University of Tokyo, Peking University, and the Australian National University. Special issues have been timed with conferences held by organizations such as the Western History Association, the Pacific Coast Branch of the American Historical Association, and the Association for Asian Studies.

Abstracting and indexing

The journal is indexed in major abstracting services used by historians and area studies scholars, including databases that serve institutions like the Library of Congress, the Digital Public Library of America, and international indexes relied upon by researchers at Oxford University, Cambridge University, University College London, and Sorbonne University. It is catalogued in bibliographic systems such as the WorldCat union catalog and is discoverable through academic search tools used by scholars of colonialism and transnational history. Major bibliographic projects and citation indices maintained by organizations like the Institute for Scientific Information and university presses track its citation impact alongside journals in regional history, American studies, and Asian studies.

Notable articles and impact

The journal has published influential articles that reshaped understanding of episodes such as the California Gold Rush, analyses of the Mission system (Spanish) in Alta California, reinterpretations of Manifest Destiny, and studies of the Chinese Exclusion Act and its transpacific ramifications. Contributors have included historians who also authored monographs on subjects like the Oregon Trail, the Transcontinental Railroad, the Mexican–American War, and the Philippine Insurrection (1899–1902). The journal's impact is evident in citation networks connecting works appearing in venues like the Journal of American History, American Historical Review, Journal of World History, Hispanic American Historical Review, and Organizations and Institutions across the Pacific basin. Special issues and symposia have influenced museum exhibitions at institutions such as the Autry Museum of the American West, the California Historical Society, and the Japanese American National Museum, and informed policy discussions referencing historical cases like the Gentlemen's Agreement of 1907 and the Immigration Act of 1924.

Category:Academic journals