The journal intends to be published four times per year in the form of special issues. We aim to be interesting to our readers, staying within the academic discourse. We use literary allusions in topics of journal issues as a way of updating scientific problems, being aware of conventionality of disciplinary boundaries in human knowledge.
The New Past is a peer-reviewed journal which publishes original papers in Russian and English on issues, covering such disciplines as history, cultural anthropology, language studies and different hybrid areas of Social Sciences and Humanities without any regional or chronological limitations.
The Editorial Board accepts papers for publication in the following areas of research:
- Phenomenon of the past and identity;
- academic practices of representation of the past;
- mass historical representations in different epochs;
- symbols of the past and their role in the functioning of historical consciousness;
- historiographical schools and trends, and their characteristics;
- historical memory and historical oblivion, factors of their formation;
- politics of memory, tools and mechanisms for managing the past;
- collective trauma and its role in the reflection on the past;
- documents and archives, techniques of working with them;
- biographies and shaping of historical consciousness.
The main journal topics are (No)Doubt, Theme of the issue, Theory and Methodology, Articles and Reports, Discussions, Sources, Reviews, Academic Life.
Submitted articles must contain the following elements:
- Introductory part, containing the statement of the problem and justification of the goal, the novelty and relevance of the presented research;
- Analysis of the sources and literature on the basis of which the research was carried out;
- Description of the methods used or theoretical basis;
- Analysis of arguments (main part);
- Conclusions.
We draw your attention that the submitted articles should correspond to the concept of the journal. The journal publishes manuscripts in which the past is perceived as a subject of constant processing in the framework of academic and non-academic practices. The Editorial Board of the journal prefers manuscripts that reflect not only the events of the past but rather different forms of reflection about it or a new look at the events - a new problem statement, use of new methods of analysis or introduction of new sources that open up a new perspective for the research. We expect these new aspects to be reflected in the submitted papers.
Sections of the journal and length of the manuscript:
Sections "(No)Doubt", “Main Issue”, “Theory and methodology”, “Articles”, “Sources”, "Discussion" are regular and peer-reviewed.
The recommended length of the article is from 20,000 to 40,000 characters, spaces included, taking into account all units of the article (see Author’s Guide).
The section “Main Issue” contains submitted articles on topics proposed in advance by the Editorial Board following the Annual Program.
In the section “Theory and Methodology” articles that highlight the current state of theoretical and methodological aspects of historical research are published.
Articles that are not related to the topic of the current issue are published in the section “Articles”.
In the “Sources” section previously unpublished sources and archival materials are introduced for further scientific use. The section is intended for the publications of written historical sources, narrative or documentary. In some cases, the Editorial Board may consider publishing a specific set of archaeological sources, although it is not possible to follow this practice in each of the issues. Priority is given to sources first introduced for scientific use through their archaeographic publication. Reprinting sources is not encouraged and should be justified.
In methodological terms, an archaeographic publication should meet the requirements of "Rules for the publication of historical documents in the USSR" (Moscow, 1990), as well as methodological recommendations for the publication of certain varieties of written historical sources (e.g. acts). In the structure of the publication, it is necessary to highlight the archaeographic introduction (foreword), an array of published documents (if there are several) and comments on them. Guided by the methodological recommendations of leading Russian archaeographers and counting on the development of an archaeographic culture of text transmission, we consider it necessary for the authors to justify the inclusion of the sources in the publication. The number of published documents, however, is not regulated. The recommended total amount of accepted materials is up to 40,000 characters, including spaces. Author’s Guide are identical to the requirements for manuscripts for other sections.
The “Discussion” section contains 4 authors' materials ranging from 15,000 to 20,000 characters each on the issues previously announced to the participants (related to the topic of the current issue) and based on questions formulated by the Editorial Board. The authors can choose all questions or just several to answer. The column "Discussion" is peer-reviewed, and therefore, the materials must contain all units of the manuscript structure (see. Author’s Guide). The Editorial Board invites leading experts, representing different points of view, to participate in the discussion.
The recommended length of manuscripts for section “Academic Chronicle” ranges from 15,000 to 18,000 characters (spaces included). The materials in these sections contain all units of a scientific article (see Author’s Guide).
Opinions articulated in published articles reflect personal views of authors and could not coincide with those of the Editorial Board.
"Essays on the Bursa" (1/2024). The issue’s topic is reminiscent of the mid-19th century bestseller, which shocked the public with descriptions of the morals in the theological school, where cramming, poverty, hunger, beatings and harassment of students by cruel teachers and older comrades were widespread. The story set the framework for the perception of spiritual education and the daily life of students of theological schools and seminaries for many years, becoming a paradigmatic text not only for secular readers, who unconditionally accepted all the horrors of the church school, but also for the priests themselves, who subsequently wrote their memoirs about the years of youth with patterns of N.G. Pomyalovsky. Based on the “Essays on the Bursa”, we suggest turning to the history of religious education in the Russian Empire, focusing not on the content of a series of educational reforms or the content of curricula, but on its anthropological dimension: everyday life, social practices, interpersonal relationships, norms and their violations, specific culture of a closed educational institution. Within the framework, we expect to have a discussion about the influence of literary bestsellers, such as “Essays on the Bursa”, on contemporaries, including government officials who make political decisions under their influence, as well as historians who fall under the charm of a literary text.
"Flight" (2/2024). The title is derived from the play by M.A. Bulgakov with the same name. Written during the period of global upheaval in Russian society, the play reflects the large-scale exodus of a part of the Russian intelligentsia, their feelings and experiences after the defeat in the Civil War. M.A. Bulgakov, characterizing the state of the first wave emigrants of the 20th century, writes: “... they sank like lead in great waters ...”. He raises questions about each individual person’s understanding of himself, his role and his place in the present and future of the country and the world during historical cataclysms and severe trials. The latter, like “great waters,” absorbed those who deliberately deprived themselves of their homeland, but could not be happy outside of Russia. The main idea of the issue are problems of emigration as a historical phenomenon: conditions, effects and consequences of rejection or adaptation, the interpenetration of cultures and traditions of “newcomers” and a society foreign to them. The allusions evoked by the title of the play allow us to turn to the study of the phenomenon of emigration in a general civilizational context, as a reflection of crisis periods in world history. We are interested in the human dimension of ongoing transformations in society in the context of interdisciplinary analysis. We are interested in the methodology for studying this topic and the main approaches that have developed in modern historiography. We expect from the authors materials devoted to resettlement and migration in general, the processes of adaptation of emigrants, the history of individual destinies, emigrant everyday life, the transformation of views in the “friend or foe” system, the concept of social justice in the context of global outcomes. We would be grateful for articles aimed at studying various aspects of mass exoduses in history, their causes and consequences for states and societies at different stages of history, and connections with world processes.
"First Man in Rome" (3/2024). The issue explores the problem of political leadership in historical retrospect. As the literary basis for the theme of the issue, we chose the title of the novel by Colleen McCullough - the first of her famous epic cycle “Lords of the World,” covering the era of civil wars and the transformation of the Roman Republic into an empire. Describing the rise to power of two charismatic antagonists Sulla and Marius, the author examines in detail and flawlessly - both from a historical and psychological point of view - the nature of a person in power, no matter what ideology - aristocratic or democratic - he adopts. At the same time, McCullough shows that regardless of what the personal political views and moral imperatives of a particular leader are, the result will be the same: the personality of the political leader “dissolves” in power and becomes its hostage. In this literary (as well as historical) plot we see a metaphor for the problem of political leadership in Russian and world history. In this context, the representation of the leader’s image in the public space seems relevant. Centennial anniversary of the death of the leader of the world proletariat V.I. Lenin provides an opportunity to understand the problem mentioned above.
"Geography" (4/2024). Understanding oneself in space is one of the basic human needs, without which the existence of homo sapiens is unthinkable. Space is one of the universal sociocultural codes. Society perceives territoriality and extension through the prism of its culture, therefore geography in its historical dimension is not only and not so much a physical phenomenon as a cultural and historical one. This issue marks the 2000th anniversary of the completion of Strabo's Geographica. His work has become an encyclopedia orbis terrarum of the ancient world. 24 AD - This is the estimated year of Strabo’s death and the year of completion of his work, which became widely known quite late. The most famous ancient treatise on geology is a reason for discussing the image of space in culture. The ways of perceiving the circle of the earth in different cultures, its organization and structuring differ very strikingly. The way sacred geography intersects with real geography makes it possible to comprehend not only the territorial organization of a particular society. Reflecting ideas about cosmic order, society, the sacred and the profane, one’s own and the other’s, the center and the periphery, power and anarchy, the “sphere of responsibility” of the muse Urania finds itself in close proximity to the domain of Clio. The idea of cultural geography in its historical and anthropological aspect is relevant not only for the Ancient and Medieval worlds, but also for modern and modern societies. The issue is dedicated to images of the world, ideas of space and sacred geography. We invite authors who would like to write about history through the suggested angle. Among the problems discussed are the idea of the center of the world, the sacred direction, the connection of social order with the cosmos. It is also proposed to comprehend the place in the literary tradition, historical memory and collective consciousness of such a genre as travelogue and reflection in it on the development of someone else's space, knowledge of someone else's as self-creation and knowledge of oneself. It is proposed to pay special attention to the map as a way of understanding and transforming reality.
The date of paper acceptance to an issue is the date of positive decision on the publication made at a meeting of the Editorial Board.