“Hate and Heritage,” on its way

I just wrapped up editing a special issue of the Journal of Hate Studies, an interdisciplinary endeavor of the Institute for Hate Studies at Gonzaga University. I proposed “heritage and hate” as the theme for a self-serving reason: I wanted to better understand the pro- and neo-Confederate movements, the continuing calls for secession, and the cultural heritage of Arkansas, where I’d be living for three years and working as a professor of sociology at Arkansas State University.  I figured that one way to do that was to find scholars working on those themes and bring their work into conversation.

Southern Confederate Heritage Park, located in Jonesboro, Arkansas, home of Arkansas State University. I was traveling out of the area when the shootings in Charleston, SC, happened. Would these flags, which fly in a private park in Jonesboro, be removed? No.

It worked, and I’m so grateful for what I learned from the contributors. Of course, they addressed concerns beyond the American South (though we have great article about the South and Confederate heritage), to Zimbabwe, Ireland, and Poland, using different methodologies and theoretical orientations to illuminate an interesting and important set of cases and questions. I couldn’t be happier with the results—or with the process, which allowed me to connect with scholars from around the world in a truly international effort.

Article contributors to the forthcoming issue are:

• Christopher M. Strain, professor of American studies at the Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College of Florida Atlantic University
• Deborah Cunningham Breede, professor of communication, Coastal Carolina University
• Christine S. Davis, professor of communication studies at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte
• Jan Warren Findlaw, associate professor of public health sciences at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte
• Njabulo Chipangura, curator of archaeology at the Mutare Museum in Zimbabwe
• Tom Maguire, Senior Lecturer in Theatre Studies at Ulster University
• Kevin McCarthy, independent scholar and author of Robert Briscoe: Sinn Féin Revolutionary, Fianna Fáil Nationalist and Revisionist Zionist
• Brett A. Barnett, associate professor of communication at Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania

 The issue will be out before the end of the year. If you would like a copy, visit the JHS website.

The journal is currently searching for a guest editor for the 2017 issue. If you are interested, please be sure to visit the JHS website for details. Proposals for the 2017 theme are due November 1.