By Patrick Nunnally, Editor
I will keep this brief before I turn things over to our capable and distinguished guest editors Ruth Mostern and Ann Waltner, both of whom are professors of Chinese and world history.
A year ago June, when the Grasping Water Institute was wrapping up, I reflected on how interesting it was to hear thoughtful, incisive talks about rivers I had never heard of, from people whose work I did not regularly follow. “It would be great,” I thought, “if some of these folks could be persuaded to write for us.”
The results, thanks to Professors Mostern and Waltner, are in front of you.
I just want to make three introductory points. The first is that the international dimension reflected in this issue is new for us, and welcome. It’s a truism that travel broadens the individual; the same can be said about learning about rivers and water issues far afield of one’s usual domain. You will continue see work from international places here, though always with some thought about its relevance to a North American audience.
Second, another new component for us this issue is the inclusion of material previously posted elsewhere, in this case through “The Conversation,” a digital, Creative Commons licensed platform that covers all manner of subjects with “academic rigor and journalistic flair.” The two pieces included in our issue, found in our Perspectives column, directly address issues we think about a great deal. They are insightful, clearly written, and contribute substantially to the discussions we are creating. We’re pleased to include them, and hope you find them interesting as well.
Finally, this issue, which marks the completion of two years of publication, is our first issue to include a peer-reviewed article. Peer review has long been a standard for publication in academic circles. A journal like ours, which includes work of academic writers as well as community-based thinkers, and which reaches audiences on and off campuses, can benefit from offering peer review for writers to whom that is important. We can now incorporate this kind of review and assessment into our work, and look forward to working with early career academic writers in coming issues.
Happy reading!
Recommended Citation
Nunnally, Patrick. 2017. “Introduction to Issue Eight.” Open Rivers: Rethinking Water, Place & Community, no. 8. https://openrivers.lib.umn.edu/article/introduction-to-issue-eight/.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.24926/2471190X.3286
Download PDF of Introduction to Issue Eight by Patrick Nunnally.