Drawn into battle (and not wanting to make a big song and dance about it)
can I ask Antipode's critics to consider the following:
1. a journal will reflect the material that is sent to it and Antipode is
no exception ... if readers think there are major gaps and shortfalls,
please submit papers for consideration
2. of course, editorial policy and strategy play a part in attracting
certain kinds of papers - and in shaping journal identity - and we have
started a new polemical, unrefereed, section at the start of each issue to
give readers the space to make interventions in debate and liven up the
tone of the journal (the second issue of 2000 will run an article from
Schnews which is a review of contemporary direct action in the UK and we
hope to attract activists as well as academics to this slot). We are also
revamping the design of the journal to make it more attractive.
3. the editorial board are looking at ways to reach new audiences and
include new activists. From 2001 we are launching an extra annual special
issue of the journal which will provide space for people to make considered
contributions to contemporary political debate - the first of these is an
edited collection looking at labour internationalism and will include
contributors from all over the world (to be published as a journal and a
book simultaneously in early 2001).
4. in addition, the board are trying to ensure we reach and support a new
generation of radical geographers with an annual scholarship of 2000
dollars to enable a postgraduate student to travel to an international
conference and conduct new research (priority will be given to those
applicants who have been traditionally excluded from the academy)
5. any other useful suggestions will be discussed at our board meeting in
Pittsburgh, April 2000
In the meantime I feel we should celebrate the fact that Antipode has
sustained itself for 30 years - testament to the continued vitality of
radical ideas within geography - and the collective efforts of hundreds of
people.
Surely human geographical thought would be less exciting without it?
Best wishes
Jane Wills
Dr Jane Wills
Department of Geography
Queen Mary & Westfield College
London
E1 4NS
tel:0171 975 5414
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