The Journal of Women's History: Forerunner of the Future

I remember becoming aware of the existence of a new periodical, The Journal of the New Republic, in the summer of 1986 and thinking, "golly, a journal devoted to only a few decades of one country's experience!" Ruminating further led me to wonder why women's history, by then almost twenty years old, had not a single journal devoted to its practice even though its focus is on over half the population in all geographical areas and periods. I was then a member of the faculty of Indiana University, which houses two of history's most important journals (the American Historical Review and the Journal of American History) and whose press published journals, and I realized that all of the resources necessary for starting a new publication were at hand. Undeterred by lack of expertise, I decided to establish a feminist journal devoted to women's history.

Most helpful was Joan Catapano, who, as an acquisitions editor, was responsible for Indiana University Press's rising reputation as a publisher of scholarly work on women. As Executive Director of the Organization of American Historians, Joan Hoff was well–placed to be editor. A full professor with national name recognition, she would have the influence that I, as an assistant professor in the Afro–American Studies Department (a discipline many deemed insufficiently rigorous), would not. Furthermore, I knew Joan from our work together on the board of the Women's Studies Program when I was director.

Although we did not share the same rank (I had dropped out of graduate school to have four children and was "slow" getting going on my academic career), being close in age meant that we shared many ideas about feminism. Not having to debate issues saved time. And time was an issue for both of us. At first Joan refused the position, because her work with the OAH, research, and fellowships kept her out of town much of the time. She finally agreed, however, after I offered to co–edit with her to get started.

We incorporated as a nonprofit and brought in Hilda Smith, since three people were the minimum required by the state for the board of directors. Joan and I were the beneficiaries of this regulation, for without it we would not have had the sage advice, wit, and support of Hilda. As the Europeanist she had a somewhat different perspective that always proved helpful. Her common–sense feminism unerringly went to the heart of gender discrimination. Living in Ohio she did not share in the day–to–day workings of the journal, but she made many trips to Bloomington and handled various onerous tasks we sent her way.

My desire to establish the journal as an entity entirely separate from the university and the press was central to my vision of a feminist publication that would not reflect the views of any one group or region. From the beginning we anticipated that the journal would move periodically when new editors were selected, providing fresh perspectives and different subject matter in the process.

From among the presses we contacted, two offers were forthcoming; we selected Indiana University Press, partially on the basis of proximity. John Gallman, then director, met with us many times to work out details, and he worded the original agreement, to which a few amendments were subsequently added, as changing conditions warranted. However odd it may seem today, Gallman's primary concern was whether there was enough research to fill a journal, and the founding editor of the forthcoming Gender and History implored us to abandon the project, fearing the field could not support two such journals. As it turned out we never lacked for submissions, and the journal was an instant success.

Our biggest problem was finding sufficient funding to operate the office. Almost all grant agencies prohibited the funding of journals. Fortunately, the Bingham Foundation was willing to approve a grant for computers and printers. Joan successfully negotiated for graduate assistants and a little more space. Initially, however, with Joan away I handled everything from my office. The sheer volume...