Do we really need another old fashioned closed access print journal? I don’t mean to sound snarky? It’s a serious question. De Gruyter and the Association of Ancient Historians are seeking “approval and support” for a proposed new journal that will “provide a forum for scholarship covering all aspects of ancient history and culture from the Archaic Period to Late Antiquity (roughly the ninth century BCE through the sixth century CE).” See the Love of History Blog for more details. They have some rather specify question to which they are seeking email responses.
- Do you support the idea of a new ancient history journal affiliated to the AAH?
- Would you be willing to submit your work to the journal?
- Would you, as a member, be willing to pay $25 for an annual subscription to the journal? [N.B., this will NOT be part of the AAH dues, but a voluntary subscription]
- Would you recommend your academic institution to subscribe to the new journal?
All this sounds like a print journal that will cost $25 a year. At least it’s not $100.00 or more per year as some are. The topic is abnormally interesting to me and at one level I wish them success. I might even subscribe. At another level, I wonder.
So far my few published journal articles have been in rather traditional journals. But I participated in Alan Lenzi’s Reading Akkadian Prayers and Hymns which is open access and I plan to submit the article I’m currently working on to a peer reviewed open access online journal. While I believe open access media is the way of the future, the problem remains how to finance publication. There are costs involved. This issue is elevated in academic fields where grants are few and almost never cover publication costs.
Via Rogueclassicism