The IndianaMagazine of History is a peer-reviewedacademic journal published quarterly by the Indiana University Bloomington Department of History. Established primarily as a venue for historical documents of interest, particularly on Indiana's territorial and early-statehood periods, the journal today publishes a range of scholarly articles, reviews, roundtables, and interviews covering the history and changing culture of Indiana and the Midwest from early European and Native American encounters to the present.
History
The Indiana Magazine of History was founded in 1905 as the Indiana Quarterly Magazine of History by George S. Cottman as "a magazine devoted to the preservation and collating of matter that is of real value to the historical student." In 1913, when Logan Esarey succeeded Cottman as editor, the magazine began its affiliation with Indiana University and adopted its current name. Under Esarey the journal started to focus on historical interpretation and analysis in addition to reproduction of printed sources. The transition was completed under the editorships of John Barnhart, who long-time associate editor Lorna Lutes Sylvester said brought an "aura…of sophisticated scholarship" to the journal, and Donald F. Carmony, whose service to Indiana University was recognized in 2002 by the creation of a chaired professorship in the IU history department. The duties of the position include editingresponsibilities for the Indiana Magazine of History. Aside from its longevity, the journal is notable for its efforts in bringing together professional and amateur historians as both contributors and readers, while still remaining a decidedly academic endeavor. Its wide lay readership, along with the support of Indiana University's professional scholars, have helped to account for the Indiana Magazine of History's continued publication. In 1955, former editor William O. Lynch reflected on this point in an article chronicling the first fifty years of the journal's existence: "The two editors of the early period from 1905 to 1913 – the largely self-educated man and the university-trained college teacher – supplemented each other to a noticeabledegree and cooperated in a fine spirit." The magazine continues to serve as the journal of scholarly record for Indiana history, while expanding its services to include lesson plans for teachers, collaboration on the scripts of Indiana Public Radio's "Moment of Indiana History" program, and free online access to its back issues through Indiana University Digital Library Program's Indiana Magazine of History Online website.
