International Journal of Regional and Local History Editorial

Abstract

The articles in this first issue of the International Journal of Regional and Local History published with Maney are indicative of the range and scope of material the journal aims to publish in its new form. We open with an extended introduction comprised of a short series of opinion pieces, commissioned from leading scholars in the field. In the first section, Edward Royle explores the history of the journal from its origins as the Journal of Local Studies in 1980 to the point at which it incorporated Regional Studies into its title. The intellectual rationale for creating a journal with this focus is picked up in the following sections of our introduction, which deal with different aspects of local and regional history in a variety of international contexts. In Britain, an important site for the development of local history has been the Centre for English Local History at the University of Leicester; from there Richard Jones and Keith Snell have provided a fascinating account of the history of the politics of the subject in Britain. They outline what they feel are some of the reasons for its depoliticisation since 1979, and provide a cogent argument for the need for local and regional histories to regain a political edge. Our next two contributors demonstrate that a political purpose remains part of local and regional histories in different national contexts. Tracing some developments in the field in South Africa from the mid twentieth century to the present day, Vivian Bickford-Smith suggests – amongst other things – that the transition to a more pluralist post-apartheid society has broadened the scope of local history in that continent, considering different locations (black as well as white districts) and identities. The introduction ends with an overview of some current trends in local and regional history in Europe from Raingard Esser. As well as suggesting some different political uses of the subject in a European context, she gives an indication of the many important new methodologies that are being deployed in the field, and introduces some important large projects currently underway. Although our predecessor aimed to carry articles from a range of disciplinary perspectives, the majority of its content was historical, as Royle points out. Our new identity as the International Journal of Regional and Local History reflects this, but aims to attract articles dealing with a wide range of regions and localities international journal of regional and local history, Vol. 8 No. 1, May, 2013, 1–2