Call for Proposals: Editor-in-Chief for Technology and Culture
The Society for the History of Technology (SHOT) is seeking candidates to be the next editor-in-chief of its flagship journal Technology and Culture. The editor’s primary responsibility is to sustain and enhance the journal’s preeminence in the history of technology. The editor is responsible for creating and supervising an effective editorial team, ensuring responsive relations with the officers and membership of SHOT and the journal’s publisher, managing the journal’s relationship with the host institution, coordinating the electronic publication of Technology’s Stories, and conducting appropriate outreach.
SHOT is conducting an open search for the new editor-in-chief. Candidates should possess wide knowledge of the history of technology, a distinguished record of scholarly contributions, and willingness to actively cultivate diverse perspectives in this interdisciplinary field. Successfully running a scholarly journal is a complex task involving intellectual, editorial, institutional, and managerial responsibilities. Candidates should discuss their experience for this position. As an international society, SHOT welcomes proposals from outside North America.
Candidates must submit detailed plans for hosting the journal’s editorial offices at a new home institution. The editorial office has typically consisted of the editor-in-chief, managing editor, a part-time editorial assistant, and book review editor. These functions might be structured in various ways. SHOT has the financial capacity to provide partial but not full support of the editorial offices, so the editor-in-chief will need to mobilize additional resources. The relationship between the editor’s home institution and SHOT will be formalized through a signed contract.
The successful candidate will gradually assume responsibilities beginning early in 2020 so as to take full responsibility for production of the journal beginning with the January 2021 issue. During the transition year 2020, the incoming editor will work closely on journal production and manuscript peer review with the present editor-in-chief, Suzanne Moon. The publication queue of completed peer-reviewed manuscripts is roughly one full year of quarterly issues. The initial term of service is five years.
Complete proposals are due 15 December 2018. The committee welcomes and encourages early conversations with potential candidates as well as nominations of potential candidates. A detailed document describing the editorial duties will be posted on the SHOT website. Proposals—electronic copies of all documents (pdf required)—should be sent via email to the search committee chair. Each proposal must include:
- Statement of editorial vision and intellectual agenda (roughly 750 words)
- Summary CVs (maximum 3 single-spaced pages for editor-in-chief; 1 page for other members of editorial team)
- Detailed plan for new editorial team, including specific discussions of office space, computing facilities, financial resources, and book-review editorship (minimum 1000 words)
- Evidence of committed support from host institution (signed letters of support from department chair, supervisor, dean, and/or other institutional officers) with willingness, if chosen, to proceed to formal contract with SHOT
Successful proposals will address these significant issues in scholarly publishing:
- Challenges to traditional scholarly publishing of “open access” models;
- Evolving relationships with the journal’s publisher;
- Expanding audiences for the journal;
- Connections to SHOT’s website and social-media initiatives;
- Relation of journal and SHOT to interdisciplinary and humanities scholarship.
Finalist candidates may be asked for additional materials and should respond promptly.
Search committee (voting members):
Tom Misa, chair (SHOT Vice President) [ tmisa@umn.edu ]
Martin Collins (Editorial Committee) [ CollinsM@si.edu ]
Dolly Jorgensen (Nominating Committee) [ dolly@jorgensenweb.net ]
Scott Knowles (Presidential appointee) [ sgk23@drexel.edu ]
Erik Rau (EC) [ erau@Hagley.org ]
(Ex officio members):
John Krige (President) [ john.krige@hsoc.gatech.edu ]
Jan Korsten (Secretary) [ J.W.A.Korsten@tue.nl ]
Richard Hirsh (Treasurer) [ richards@vt.edu ]
Suzanne Moon (Outgoing Editor) [ suzannemoon@techculture.org ]