Call for Papers: Special Edition


Left History is planning a special edition issue with the theme “what does it mean to write ‘left’ history?

Left History 11.1 (2006) asked this question, and we ask it again over a decade later, amidst increasing socio-economic inequality and wage stagnation, the normalization of precarious labour, the emergence of powerful protest groups within a fragmenting Left, and the global resurgence of racist, neo-fascist movements. Within academia, neoliberalism has had profoundly stifling effects, even as innovations in the digital humanities open new avenues for the dissemination of knowledge. What can left histories contribute against this backdrop?

While we pose the question in the broadest possible terms, there are a number of related questions that can be considered in answering (these are suggestions only):

Is left history a workable category, or is it too broad and varied? Are there new or emerging genres of historical analysis that should be considered left history? Is left history activist by definition? Do current works of left history adequately counteract the neo-liberal politics of advanced capitalist societies? Does left history connect with and appeal to an audience outside the academy—perhaps an audience experiencing the varied oppressions that so many works of left history reveal and condemn?

If you wish to submit an article for consideration, please let us know in advance by emailing To ensure adequate time for submissions to undergo the peer review process, we have set a submission deadline of March 31, 2019. Follow the general guidelines set out by the Chicago Manual of Style, 17th ed., and for more specific style instructions see our author guidelines. Please submit an electronic version of your manuscript as a Word .docx file, and include a brief abstract, not exceeding 250 words. We ask that authors do not simultaneously submit their articles to more than one journal. Please ensure that copyright laws are followed when including images.

We also continue to invite original, unpublished submissions for our regular issues, from both established and early-career scholars. Issues of Left History regularly include articles from a variety of academic disciplines, on topics including race, politics, gender, sexuality, culture, the state, labour, the environment, human rights, theory, and method. All past issues can be found in our archive.

Once submitted, articles are circulated to at least two anonymous readers with expertise in the field. The readers are asked to assess the article’s contribution to the relevant scholarship and return a report to the editors. Both the author of the article and the reviewers remain anonymous to each other at all stages of the evaluation. Ideally, the journal editors are able to report back to the author within four months of receiving a submission.

For submission instructions, please click here. To enquire about the journal, please write to The editors are happy to answer any questions.