Taking Clio's Pulse …

Abstract

Examining trends in research publications can yield an appreciation of where a discipline is moving and of its core intellectual orientations, specific and general subject interests, and disciplinary contours. This discussion considers the major contours of academic history publication as reviewed by the flagship generalist journal American Historical Review (AHR). The AHR's topical indexes for the years 2000–2009 were used to gather essential data from which salient disciplinary features could be examined in order to situate academic history's scholarly preoccupations. Various constellations of specialization, focused emphases, and general contours of intellectual activity emerged.