Over its more than 80 years in print, the Journal of the History of Ideas has accumulated a pretty large archive. Oftentimes, that archive is representative of the history of intellectual history—its trends, priorities, methods. Sometimes, it involves scholarship that, by virtue of appearing once-in-a-while, cannot quite get either the visibility or the relevant context in which to be seen.

With the Virtual Issues initiative on the JHI Blog, we propose to recall earlier articles from the JHI that fit with a particular subject or theme, and to place them in a new and current context. We do not pretend that the JHI could ever be comprehensive on these themes, and we are well aware of the limits of the journal’s success in addressing particular subjects. But as with every archive, all sorts of surprises await. With Virtual Issues, we bring out work that has some connection to current concerns, and to recall ways in which authors engaged a particular theme, including ways that may now be out of fashion but that are suggestive of past trends. Each Virtual Issue—the first being Nonhumans in Intellectual History, to appear in several installments—features an introduction that resituates these articles. Anyone interested in curating such an issue together with us should contact the lead JHIBlog editors with a proposal and a list of relevant articles.

      — Stefanos Geroulanos, on behalf of the Executive Editors


Non-Human Intellectual History: Virtual Issue 1.1

Non-Human Intellectual History—On the Treatment of Animals: Virtual Issue 1.2


East European Intellectual History—”East” meets “West”: Virtual Issue 2.1

East European Intellectual History—Marxism in Dialogue: Virtual Issue 2.2

East European Intellectual History—Russian Nationalism: Virtual Issue 2.3


The JHI in the Early Cold War—Reimagining the History of Ideas: Virtual Issue 3.1

The JHI in the Early Cold War—Class Struggle and the Revision of British Socialism: Virtual Issue 3.2

The JHI in the Early Cold War—The Emergence of International Relations: Virtual Issue 3.3


Recent Work in French Intellectual History