Style Guide
Please follow the guidelines given here when preparing your piece for submission to the JHI Blog. A description of the types of pieces we are seeking is available here.
Please follow the conventions of standard American English. The JHI Blog generally defers to the latest edition of the Chicago Manual of Style for style, usage, and endnotes. For citation expectations, see below. For spelling, please refer to Merriam-Webster.
Word Limits
Think Pieces: Around 2,000 words, including citations and endnotes.
Written Interviews: 2,000–3,500 words. Keep in mind that your interviewee may give lengthy responses, which can be hard to cut down after the fact, so do not plan on including more than 8–10 questions.
Podcast Interviews: Episodes typically run 40–50 minutes. Please contact us at blogjhi@gmail.com for guidelines and instructions.
Conference Reports: 1,250–2,000 words.
Exhibition Reviews: 500–2,000 words.
Citations
Be sure to cite whatever you would normally cite in a paper or article. As a general guideline, authors must utilize in-text, parenthetical citations that identify the title of the source, author, and the page(s) to which you are referring. Authors must always include a page number in their citation when using direct quotations or paraphrasing, unless page numbers are otherwise not available (e.g., a digital source). In addition to basic citation information, we prefer that all referenced sources that can be found online should include a hyperlink to the source (publisher page, JSTOR, Project Muse, etc.); only the first citation needs to include a hyperlink. To the greatest extent possible, book titles should be linked to the official page maintained by its publisher.
If necessary, citations may occasionally be supplemented with endnotes (e.g., providing an expanded list of important secondary literature or additional clarification).
Quotations
Place all periods and commas within quotation marks; other punctuation should be included within quotation marks only if it is part of the quotation cited.
Long-form quotations (more than six lines) should be free of external quotation marks and indented once, with an unbroken space both before and after the given passage.
An English translation of quotations in non-English languages should be provided whenever possible. For long quotations, it may be best to include the original language in an endnote; for brief quotations, in the text (in parentheses).
Images
Please include at least one image and text for a caption. Whenever possible, we prefer to use images that are in the public domain.
Image captions must include a brief description of the image. They must also note the source of the image and, if applicable and known, the photographer/artist/creator. If possible, include a link to the source of the image.
Please note that authors are responsible for securing permissions for any images or media that are not in the public domain and for which they do not hold the copyright. More information on copyright and fair use can be found here.
Some resources for finding high-quality public domain images:
For further, more thematic sources, see the list here.
How to Submit
Carefully proofread your text, double-checking the accuracy of all proper nouns, quotations, hyperlinks, and citations.
Submit the text of your post and the image captions as a Word document by email to blogjhi@gmail.com. Please include your name, email address, and current institution and status (if applicable) in the body of your email as well as the attached document. Please also attach the images and necessary permission agreements for any images that are not in the public domain. One of the editors will be in touch to confirm receipt of your submission.
Not all submissions are accepted for publication; acceptance may be contingent on revision. The editors reserve the right to edit accepted articles for clarity, accuracy, and style.
Please be advised that the JHI Blog is separate from the Journal of the History of Ideas. Publication on the Blog does not constitute publication in the journal.
Posts on the JHI Blog are made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. This license allows reusers to copy and distribute the material in any medium or format in unadapted form only, for noncommercial purposes only, and if attribution is given to the creator.
