Accepting the Baton

Historians frequently get a little uncomfortable when asked to reflect on the future. Given our sensitivity to the complexity we find in the past, and the humbling reality that none of us can ever explain it all, it comes as little surprise that we are cautious about predicting outcomes to present-day ferment. As I begin my term as editor in chief of Technology and Culture, however, I have been thinking a good deal about the future: of academic communities in general and SHOT in particular; of the vitality and changing character of scholarly communications; and of the public life of historically rigorous understandings of technology. Faced with ongoing changes in scholarly publishing, and the growth of new information media and social networking, it is fair to wonder if the scholarly journal as it has long been understood is still (or should remain) relevant to the life of an intellectual society like SHOT. That a journal is valuable is for me beyond question, but how should it change to respond to the needs of our readers? Further, how can it act as a catalyst for scholarly growth in our field? To change nothing is to miss important opportunities; change too much and the value of what we have may be painfully diminished. How can we distinguish the real opportunities from the passing fads? As I pondered these questions myself and in consultation with my editorial team, I found myself revisiting the foundational mission of scholarly publication: to facilitate the creation and circulation of innovative, reliable, and widely relevant historical research, and to give readers a single venue to find out about other scholarly work that may be of interest to them (currently through book and exhibit reviews). Guided by this basic understanding, two questions frame the challenges facing T&C in the coming years: What is the significance of the scholarly journal in the current life of our professional society and for the larger public? How can we sustain and enhance T&C in a way that sustains and enhances scholarly thinking about technology?

A key development in the life of SHOT is the continuing expansion of the organization into a truly international society. SHOT's international transformation has intersected with (and helped to produce) a growing, global interest in humanistic studies of technology. Growth, however desirable, nevertheless comes with important challenges. Widely separated communities of scholars may not be able to come into regular interaction with each other at annual meetings or other events, given the pragmatic difficulties of time and money involved in long-distance travel. Under these circumstances the traditional role of the scholarly journal, to be a forum in which scholars separated by time and place can communicate and exchange knowledge and thereby remain a community, is increasingly vital to the life of the society. Hiding behind the seemingly static face of a paper journal is a creative dynamism fueled by community engagement. Referees, editors, and authors collectively vet and refine an article, ensuring its credibility. Just as critically, the process pushes authors to take their work further, grappling with the bigger questions their studies raise. At its best, this process helps produce meaningful, penetrating scholarship that not only offers real insight to the wider community but in turn inspires new scholarship. Under John Staudenmaier's astute leadership T&C worked to build a wider and more diverse community of contributors and referees. We will certainly continue the process. However, it is time to push the process along further and seek opportunities to harness the intellectual possibilities of this growing diversity.

Internationalization, after all, should not be seen as a mere demographic shift. Taking the growing geographic scope of studies of technology seriously forces us to rethink the substance of our accepted narratives about technology history. As we bring together scholars, new and established, who carry with them attention to new topics, new approaches to history, and new motivations for studying the history of technology, we have the chance to collectively ask ourselves hard questions about the stories we tell and the narratives we use to shape our histories. It is time to actively seek ways to make...