I would echo the perception and the actuality of the problems brought
to the list by Mr. Vejnar & Dr. Levengood. I was formerly the editor
of the Archeological Society of Virginia's Quarterly Bulletin. We
were totally dependent upon outside submissions. We had no control
over who submitted what and from where and about what. We were also
criticized for not having enough articles about historic archaeology,
or prehistoric archaeology, or too much on theoretical archaeology,
or too many articles by professional archaeologists, etc. but the
drift is clear.
I too did an article by article count and we were roughly evenly
divided, during my tenure, between the different time periods. That's
not to say that the perception has expired. Our articles ranged in
quality from excellent to otherwise. We aimed to cover the spectrum
and in some years, historic archaeology submissions far outnumbered
prehistoric and vice versa. I suspect that other editors of journals
with a scholarly bent will undoubtedly have similar stories.
This should not be misconstrued as a thinly disguised plea for
contributions to the Editor's Guild Body Armor Fund. ;>))
Lyle Browning, RPA
On Mar 8, 2007, at 3:50 PM, Paul Levengood wrote:
> Dear Mr. Vejnar,
>
> To the matter of a "bias" in the VMHB---nothing could be further from
> the truth. We the editors have absolutely no preference for articles
> focusing on "eastern Virginia, the University of Virginia, and the
> Civil
> War." We are constrained by what is submitted to us and by the
> scholarly quality of those submissions. We receive far more
> manuscripts
> on Central Virginia and the Tidewater than on other parts of the
> state.
> That is something over which we have no control. (Ironically, there
> are
> many who criticize us for not publishing enough on the Civil War.)
>
> That said, I take issue with your assertion that "In the last 9
> years I
> have counted only ONE article in the VMHB dealing with the area
> southwest of Roanoke." By my count, there have, in that time span,
> been
> two articles focusing on that region (see vol. 108, no. 4, pp. 393-434
> and vol. 110, no. 1, pp. 5-34) as well as an entire issue (vol.
> 107, no.
> 4) devoted to the Kanawha salt industry. Would we like to publish
> more
> on Southwestern Virginia? Absolutely. We would also like to publish
> more articles on Northern Virginia, which has probably been less well
> represented in VMHB pages than has Southwestern Virginia.
> Interestingly, in the past year or so we have accepted two articles on
> Southwestern Virginia for which we await final drafts from the
> authors.
> Neither of them, I venture, would perceive the bias about which you
> speak.
>
> I would encourage anyone on this list who has a manuscript on a
> Southwestern Virginia topic to submit it to the VMHB. It will be
> treated
> fairly.
>
> Finally, As a matter of policy, we do not publicly discuss manuscripts
> we have rejected, that would be a breach of ethics.
>
> Sincerely,
> Paul Levengood
>
> ---------------
> Paul A. Levengood, Ph.D.
>
> Managing Editor
> Virginia Magazine of History and Biography
>
> Program Coordinator
> Reynolds Business History Center
>
> Phone: 804.342.9673
> Fax: 804.342.9697
>
> U.S. Mail Address:
> P.O. Box 7311
> Richmond, VA 23221
>
> FedEx, UPS Address:
> 428 North Boulevard
> Richmond, VA 23220
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Discussion of research and writing about Virginia history
> [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Robert Vejnar
> Sent: Thursday, March 08, 2007 2:28 PM
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Bias in the Virginia Magazine of History and Biography
>
> I'm wondering if any of the Virginia History Listserv subscribers are
> noticing a bias in the Virginia Magazine of History and Biography
> towards publishing articles dealing only with eastern Virginia, the
> University of Virginia, and the Civil War? I received the lastest
> issue
> of the VMHB in today's mail and disovered yet ANOTHER article on Mr.
> Jefferson's University - this time dealing with the admission of
> women.
> This is in addition to the article entitled "Flag- Waving Wahoos:
> Confederate Symbols at the University of Virginia, 1941-51"
> (vol. 110, #4) published in 2002. I find this frustrating, as a
> colleague of mine recently submitted an article regarding the naming
> controversy surrounding a southwest Virginia college to the VMHB for
> consideration, but was told that it was "far too narrow" for
> publication. What gives here? Does the VMHB publish articles only on
> UVA? In the last 9 years I have counted only ONE article in the VMHB
> dealing with the area southwest of Roanoke. Surely Southwest Virginia
> has contributed something of historical worth to the commonwealth of
> Virginia, yes?
>
> I look forward to anything you may have to say.
>
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