Lähihistoria (Finnish Journal of Contemporary History) is an online, open access journal, which publishes articles, review articles and essays on contemporary history from across the disciplines. Established in 2021, the journal covers a multifaceted range of perspectives related to contemporary history.
About the Journal
Lähihistoria (Finnish Journal of Contemporary History) is an online, open access journal, which publishes articles, review articles and essays on contemporary history from across the disciplines. Established in 2021, the journal covers a multifaceted range of perspectives related to contemporary history.
Lähihistoria publishes content in Finnish and English.
The journal is published by Lähihistorian tutkimuksen seura (Finnish Society of Contemporary History).
Instead of defining contemporary history according to a specific time period, Lähihistoria understands contemporary history as encompassing a multitude of phenomena and fields of research. The journal approaches contemporary history with an open mind: it encourages inter- and transdisciplinary approaches and methods, and aims to conceptualise present day political, social and cultural debates via historical means. The journal is interested in how remnants of the past are ubiquitous within the present – in nature, culture and politics, and in all of us, in our thoughts and actions. For example, conversations regarding collective memory or the (mis)use of history belong within the realm of contemporary history, as defined by this journal.
The journal encourages high quality scientific dialogue. Its motivated editorial team and esteemed peer reviewers provide contributors with feedback, helping authors hone their arguments and presentation. Lähihistoria expects all submissions to be written in a clear and comprehensible manner. Please note that proofreading is always the responsibility of the author, regardless of the submission language.
Submissions
Research articles are centred around original research, represent high quality scholarly communication, and are peer-reviewed. Research articles undergo the peer review process, where their quality and suitability for publication is reviewed by experts (minimum of 2 reviewers) beyond the journal’s editorial team. The optimal length of a research article is approximately 50 000 – 70 000 characters, spaces included.
Review articles provide comprehensive summaries and/or critical discussions of a theme or topic related to contemporary history, and cover more than one recent publication related to contemporary history. These articles can comment on e.g. multiple recent books that share a common theme, a special issue of a journal, or newly published primary source collections. Review articles can also cover methodological, ethical, theoretical or philosophical questions related to the study of contemporary history. Review articles undergo the peer review process if needed, on a case-by-case basis. Please note that Lähihistoria does not publish individual book reviews based on only one publication.
Essays can cover a wide range of perspectives related to contemporary history and are written in a more informal manner, in comparison to research and review articles. Essays can combine subjective perspectives, essayistic approaches, and analytical research. They are not subject to the peer review process and are reviewed and edited by the journal’s editorial team.
In addition, Lähihistoria publishes a series called Field Notes on Contemporary History, which features profiles and interviews that cover the many different ways in which contemporary history is utilised and showcased within politics and culture more broadly. Texts falling into this category can discuss, for example, how scholarly research has been utilised beyond the confines of academia, or the ways in which the past is presented in contemporary media or arts.
Creative Commons Licensing
All texts published in Lähihistoria fall under the Creative Commons license CC-BY-NC-ND. This means that all text is free to share (copy and redistribute) in any medium or format, however under the following terms:
- Appropriate credit must be given, a link to the license provided, and any changes made must be clearly indicated.
- The text may not be used for commercial purposes.
- If text is remixed, transformed or built upon, this modified material may not be distributed.
Please note that the illustrations published in the journal do not fall under the above licensing agreement, and their original licensing and copyright regulations must be followed.
Metadata such as titles, abstracts and bibliographical information falls under the journal.fi service’s license CC0.
Lähihistoria does not charge article processing charges (APC) or other fees. The journal’s publishing fees are covered via academic and cultural grants, as well as via the financial support of the Finnish Society of Contemporary History.
Peer Review
All research articles undergo the peer review process. Review articles are peer reviewed on a case-by-case basis. The journal’s editor decides whether peer reviewed articles are published based on the reviewers’ comments. The publication decision regarding content that has not gone through the peer review process is made by the editorial team, however the input of external experts can be requested if deemed necessary by the editorial team.
