Q&A with Heath Carter: On Editing the Journal of Presbyterian History

1.      What led you to decide to come on board as senior co-editor of JPH?

There is a long history of collaboration between Princeton Theological Seminary, where I am on faculty, and the Presbyterian Historical Society, which publishes JPH. My predecessor at PTS, Jim Moorhead, was also my predecessor as senior co-editor. And so when I was weighing whether or not to accept this role, the opportunity to continue this tradition of cross-institutional collaboration weighed heavily in my discernment. In addition, I’ve become quite interested in the history of ecumenical Protestantism and JPH seemed like a great vehicle to promote and amplify excellent new work on this vital and, in recent decades at least, understudied stream of Christianity. 

2.      What is your vision for JPH? What do you hope to build on from previous editorial teams?

My hope, as I began to suggest above, is to publish groundbreaking work on not just Presbyterianism but also Protestantism more broadly—include its evangelical and especially its ecumenical streams, both in the United States and well beyond. We want to be publishing a diverse array of authors on a wide array of themes. We recently put out a call for think pieces on the past, present, and future of ecumenical Protestantism and readers will start to see these coming into print starting next year. I’m excited about the ways these pieces will spark what should be a long and fascinating conversation in the years ahead. 

3.      What topics, in your view, are underrepresented in the study of Presbyterian history that present opportunities for scholars to contribute to the field?

I honestly think there’s so much work to be done. The Historical Society has rich collections on Presbyterian missions abroad and many of our most interesting pieces in recent years have drawn deeply on these archival treasures. I know folks who are working on themes of queer inclusion, women’s ordination, civil rights, and more. It is also well past time, as I argued in a recent editor’s note, for a reassessment of the “great divorce” story of American Protestantism in the twentieth century. The fundamentalist-modernist controversy was real and important but not nearly as definitive as the historiography has often made it out to be. The lines between evangelical and ecumenical Protestants were blurrier than the literature lets on for much of the twentieth century and even up to today. I think this is clear in a number of recent books and I’m eager to publish pieces that will offer new ways forward for the field in terms of rethinking the big picture. 

4.      How do you see JPH fitting into broader fields of American religious history? 

In recent years JPH has been publishing pieces that are squarely in the mainstream of the field, centering themes of race, class, gender, sexuality, and more. While the Journal’s name might lead some to believe that we’re interested in an older vein of church/denominational history, we’re in fact committed to featuring pieces that reflect current and cutting edge approaches in the wider field. This isn’t to say that we won’t publish pieces that center institutional or intellectual histories, but just that they need to be done well and in keeping with contemporary standards of the historical guild.

5.      What are the benefits of publishing an article in JCR as compared to a journal with a broader topical frame (Journal of the American Academy of Religion; Church History, Journal of Africana Religions, etc.)?

I can identify several reasons someone might consider us for their next piece:

1) we can feature essays that are story and narrative driven, at once academically credible and accessible to the wider publics that read JPH;

2) on a similar note, the Journal is beautifully produced and richly illustrated, whenever possible with images from the Historical Society’s unbelievably rich collections. It is a delight to see one’s work contextualized so beautifully in print. 

3) we are often able to get pieces reviewed and into production at a faster clip than other journals, and so can be an attractive option for graduate students and early career scholars who are feeling the pressures of deadlines related to the job market, tenure review, and more.  

4) Please don’t ever hesitate to email us at jph@ptsem.edu if you’d like to pitch us. You can find our submission guidelines here: https://www.history.pcusa.org/journal/author-info