Journal Studies the 1960s

Whereas previous scholarship on the 1960s has focused on the perspective of participants in the protest movements of the decade, a new journal co-edited by Lecturer on History and Literature John C. McMillian aims to feature a diverse range of historical views and reach a broad audience.

The journal, entitled “The Sixties: A Journal of History, Politics, and Culture,” is set to launch in June of 2008.

“This journal is meant to be written in a jargon-free, accessible way,” McMillian said. “It’s written for scholars, but we shun the myopic form you sometimes find in academia, so we can reach both scholars and public intellectuals.”

He said the journal will include interviews with people of the era, book reviews, poetry, and perhaps graphics.

Michael S. Foley, an associate professor of history at the City University of New York and one of McMillian’s co-editors, said the new journal will offer a global view of historical topics from the 1960s.

“Scholars all over the world are examining the 1960s as happening in different places,” he said, citing Denmark and Brazil as examples. “This journal is going to be a kind of clearing-house for all of this great work happening everywhere that not all scholars are aware of.”

The new journal also aims to offer the perspective of a younger generation of scholars.

“A lot of history on the 1960s was written by participants in one way or another,” Foley said. “I think this journal will be successful because people are further removed and impartial and can be more judicious­—not to say that you can ever make yourself truly objective.”

According to McMillian, the first issue of “The Sixties” may cover the Whitney Museum’s Summer of Love exhibit, the recent film “Across the Universe,” and interviews with priest and anti-war demonstrator Daniel Berrigan. Professor of Divinity Harvey Cox, now in his late 1970s, plans to contribute a book review with a perspective he describes as both “scholarly and personal.”

Cox expressed similarities between protests against the Iraq war to the protest movements of the 1960s.

“It’s a point of reference for a lot of people,” he said.

McMillian said the editors of the journal aim to release it twice in 2008, eventually transitioning to quarterly publication.