The Canadian Historical Review

Canadians are understandably nervous about retaining their separate identity, cul­ture, and history in the context of a rapidly globalizing world. Although on the global stage we can boast of many highly talented, highly paid, and successful musicians, film stars, entertainers, and cultural industry entrepreneurs, as well as well known and respected writers and academics, at home we remain in the shadow of the United States, facing the relentless drive for open borders and freer trade. The book and periodical publishing industry is no exception. For scholarly journals there are concerns revolving around state support and pure survival. In addition, for history journals there are also issues of national identity and the teaching of that history in our schools and universities. This panel on scholarly publishing comes at an opportune time. While my own experience as a co-editor of the Canadian Historical Review ended after a three-year term in 1997, I have also spent three years on the Board of the Conference of Historical Journals (1996–1999), an organization which represents mainly American but also a number of Canadian history journals. These experiences have reminded me that, while Cana­dians have to be diligent about our own history, culture, and identity, we never­theless share some common, or at least similar, dilemmas with colleagues in the United States and elsewhere. These common themes are the focus of what follows.