The Journal of Modern Periodical Studies

The Journal of Modern Periodical Studies
Title	The Journal of Modern Periodical Studies
Discipline	Periodical studies
Language	English
Abbreviation	J. Mod. Period. Stud.
Publisher	Independent academic press
Country	United States
History	2010–present
Frequency	Annual
Issn	0000-0000

The Journal of Modern Periodical Studies is a peer-reviewed annual publication dedicated to the historical, cultural, and material study of periodicals from the nineteenth century to the present. Founded in the early 2010s, the journal situates magazines, newspapers, and journals in relation to wider currents in media history, literary studies, and cultural institutions. It publishes research articles, archival reports, and critical bibliographies that engage primary sources and institutional collections.

History

The journal was established in 2010 by scholars associated with Modern Language Association, American Historical Association, PMLA, Victorian Studies, and regional centers such as the Newberry Library, British Library, Library of Congress, Bodleian Library, and Bibliothèque nationale de France. Early editorial meetings involved faculty from Columbia University, University of Chicago, Harvard University, Yale University, and University of Oxford and advisory input from curators at the Museum of Modern Art, Victoria and Albert Museum, and the Smithsonian Institution. The inaugural issue included contributions by researchers linked to projects at Nineteenth-Century Studies Association, American Antiquarian Society, Johns Hopkins University, and the University of Pennsylvania. Over subsequent years the journal attracted submissions from scholars working with collections at the British Library Newspapers, National Archives (UK), National Archives and Records Administration, Wellcome Collection, and the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture.

Scope and Focus

The journal foregrounds periodicals as artifacts and vectors of circulation, situating studies alongside scholarship published in venues such as Journal of Victorian Culture, Twentieth-Century Literature, Signs (journal), American Quarterly, and Critical Inquiry. Its remit covers studies of print culture tied to institutions like the Press Syndicate, publishing houses such as Macmillan Publishers, HarperCollins, Penguin Books, and magazines including The Atlantic (19th century magazine), Punch (magazine), Harper's Magazine, Literary Supplement, and New Statesman. Topics include editorial practice linked to figures associated with William Makepeace Thackeray, George Eliot, T. S. Eliot, Virginia Woolf, W. B. Yeats, and James Joyce; circulation networks involving cities such as London, New York City, Paris, Berlin, and Mumbai; and material studies of paper and typography tied to workshops like Frenches, Gill Sans, and foundries connected to Monotype Corporation. The journal also engages digital humanities projects connected to Digital Humanities, HathiTrust, Early English Books Online, and initiatives at Stanford University, King's College London, and University College Dublin.

Editorial Structure and Policies

An editorial board comprises editors drawn from departments and institutions including University of Cambridge, University of Oxford, Princeton University, Brown University, Rutgers University, McGill University, University of Toronto, and research libraries such as the Harry Ransom Center and Peabody Essex Museum. Peer review is double-anonymous, with reviewers recruited from specialist networks spanning associations like Modernist Studies Association, American Studies Association, European Society for Periodical Research, and funding bodies such as the National Endowment for the Humanities and Arts and Humanities Research Council. Policies emphasize archival citation practices consistent with standards used by Chicago Manual of Style-adopting journals, rights clearance mindful of the Copyright Act of 1976 and European directives, and open data statements coordinated with repositories such as JSTOR, Project MUSE, and Digital Public Library of America.

Abstracting and Indexing

The journal is indexed in major bibliographic services alongside counterparts such as Web of Science, Scopus, MLA International Bibliography, EBSCOhost, and ProQuest. It appears in library catalogs managed by systems like OCLC and is discoverable through platforms maintained by Google Scholar, WorldCat, and academic aggregators used by institutions including University of Michigan Library and Yale University Library. Archival metadata practices align with standards promoted by International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions and the Open Archives Initiative.

Reception and Impact

Scholarly reception has noted the journal's role in consolidating periodical studies as a recognized subfield alongside established venues like Modern Philology and Renaissance Quarterly. Reviews in outlets connected to Times Literary Supplement, London Review of Books, and New York Review of Books have highlighted influential pieces that reframed understandings of seriality for figures such as Charles Dickens, Edgar Allan Poe, Oscar Wilde, and Ezra Pound. The journal's institutional impact includes citations in monographs published by presses such as Oxford University Press, Cambridge University Press, Routledge, Palgrave Macmillan, and inclusion in graduate syllabi at departments like English Department, Columbia University, History Department, University of California, Berkeley, and School of Information, University of Texas at Austin.

Notable Articles and Special Issues

Notable contributions have examined archival discoveries related to editions of The Strand Magazine, the editorial networks surrounding The Yellow Book, and serialized fiction in Appleton's Journal and The Cornhill Magazine. Special issues have focused on themes such as "Seriality and Modernism" featuring work on T. S. Eliot, James Joyce, and Virginia Woolf; "Global Periodicals" with case studies from India, Japan, and Brazil; and "Illustration and Print Culture" with essays on artists connected to Aubrey Beardsley, William Morris, and John Tenniel. Contributors have included scholars affiliated with Columbia University Press, Duke University Press, University of Chicago Press, and research centers like Centre for Contemporary Literature and Oxford Centre for Life-Writing.

Category:Academic journals Category:Periodical studies journals