ニューイングランドの母校から雑誌記事の報告

Strong Tradition, New Directions for HTR
ニューイングランドの母校から雑誌記事の報告
October 30, 2015

Faye Bodley-Dangelo, managing editor of Harvard Theological Review / Photo: Jonathan Beasley
For more than 100 years, Harvard Theological Review has been a leading source for compelling original research from established scholars in the fields of religion and theology.

Now, the Review has a new managing editor, and the journal’s editors are aiming to build upon its legacy of embracing the history and philosophy of religious thought in all traditions and periods by publishing more articles from other fields than those in which it has historically focused.

"When it was begun in 1908, the fields HTR covered were, like all academic fields, much smaller and more manageable, with far fewer scholars involved in their pursuit, than they are today. As a general journal in what are now very capacious academic fields, HTR has long striven to present articles representing a range of the subfields," said co-editors Jon Levenson, Albert A. List Professor of Jewish Studies at HDS, and Kevin Madigan, Winn Professor of Ecclesiastical History at HDS. "For several decades, HTR was privileged to have distinguished scholars of the New Testament and early Christianity as its editors. Scholars in those fields tend to see it therefore as, in part, a specialized journal of their discipline. This trend has continued during our editorship. Our goal from the start has been to carry more articles from other fields, including later periods of Christianity as well as other religions in all periods, and we think we have had some noticeable success in that.

"Though most of our articles are historical in focus, we welcome exercises in constructive theology, ethics, etc., so long as they are rigorous, historically informed, and not homiletical in tone. We take the word 'theological' in the title seriously."

HTR is published quarterly and its circulation includes thousands of libraries around the world, as well as scores of individual subscribers. The numbers do not include those who receive convenient electronic access through their university libraries. In the last five years, the Review’s circulation has increased 50 percent, according to Cambridge University Press, and it has experienced large growth in Asia, Africa, South America, and Eastern Europe.

Earlier this year, Faye Bodley-Dangelo took over as the Review’s new managing editor. Bodley-Dangelo, ThM '05 and a ThD candidate, was already familiar with HTR, having been a student editor before being named managing editor.

"Already when she was a student editor a few years ago, Faye demonstrated a very keen analytical mind; her ability to size up the argument of a submitted essay and to identify its soft spots was superb. As managing editor, these strengths have continued to stand her in good stead," said Levenson and Madigan.

Some of the areas she has prioritized since coming on-board include streamlining the submission and review process and eliminating delays in publication schedules.

"One of my goals has been to ensure that authors move through the review process as quickly as possible. We have at least two stages of review, and we tell authors to expect the process to take from one to four months, but that does not include revision time," said Bodley-Dangelo. "Out of appreciation for the challenges that academics have, whether tenure pressures or the need to make their research public as quickly as possible, we try to keep their submissions moving along through the review process."

As part of the effort to streamline publication operations, Bodley-Dangelo has expanded the production staff. Made up of bright graduate students with advanced training in modern and ancient languages, the HTR staff copyedits, typesets, and proofreads all of the articles that appear in the Review.

Bodley-Dangelo is also eyeing some digital enhancements for the journal that will make the process more efficient for both authors and reviewers. She soon plans to implement ScholarOne Manuscripts, the web-based manuscript submission, peer review, and tracking process widely used by academic journals. The application will help authors keep track of their articles and enhance the workflow among reviewers. Additionally, Bodley-Dangelo is looking to add more articles to FirstView, which enables the Review to make articles accessible online in advance of their appearance in the print issue.

The latest issue of HTR was released this month. Readers will find articles including "From Women's Piety to Male Devotion: Gender Studies, the Acts of Paul and Thecla, and the Evidence of an Arabic Manuscript," by Stephen J. Davis, Professor of Religious Studies at Yale University, as well as a review essay of Princeton Professor Emeritus Peter Brown’s Through the Eye of the Needle: Wealth, the Fall of Rome, and the Making of Christianity in the West, 350-550 AD.

For more information on HTR, including how to submit an article, or how to subscribe, visit the Harvard Divinity School website.

—by Michael Naughton