Incredibly, it is a full year since we formally launched this Journal by publishing our first suite of papers. We set out with an aim to facilitate thinking about positive new societal trajectories within an inter- and transdisciplinary forum, to allow different disciplines and fields to interact with one another to address the complexities of global social challenges – something difficult to achieve in more focused, discipline-based journals. Time has truly flown and both the editorial team and Bristol University Press are delighted with the diversity of topics and themes on which we have attracted stimulating and provocative papers and interventions, our short-form contributions. We have covered challenges as diverse as migration, climate change, food security, peace and conflict, global governance, and health and well-being. All our publishing has been underpinned by a deep exploration of more equitable research practice, globally.
Particularly pleasing is the interest shown through proposals for special collections or clusters of papers. The first of these, on drone ecologies, was published earlier this month (July 2023). It explores the potential and pitfalls of aerial monitoring for biodiversity conservation, bringing global perspectives from the fields of conservation biology, human and physical geography, rainforest ecology and environmental systems.
Our first year has not, however, been without deep sadness because – as we announced at the time – in January we lost Julie Thompson Klein, one of our founding editors-in-chief, who had become a key member of our highly collaborative team and is sorely missed. A professor emerita of Humanities at Wayne State University, Julie was a pioneer and internationally recognised doyenne in inter- and transdisciplinary approaches. She was also a fervent cheerleader for younger scholars in her networks. Hers was an invaluable contribution to the early direction of the Journal. You can read an obituary to Julie on the Humanities, Arts, Science and Technology Alliance and Collaboratory (HASTAC) website.
Fortunately, we have adequate capacity within the editorial and advisory teams to cover her main areas of expertise. Marcel Bursztyn of the University of Brasilia, who has served the Journal well as author and as Associate Editor, kindly agreed to ‘step up’ to become an editor-in-chief and brings a wealth of experience in transdisciplinarity, climate change and sustainability, as well as environment and society, to the role. He has already fitted into the team very well.
As a mark of the esteem in which Julie Thompson Klein was held, we are today announcing the launch of two initiatives. The first is the Julie Thompson Klein Annual Prize, to be awarded for the best research paper using interdisciplinary or transdisciplinary approaches to one or more global societal challenges. The first winner of the prize will be announced in April 2025 for the best article published in the Journal in 2024.
The second tribute to Julie is a call for papers for a special collection aimed at advancing trans- and interdisciplinary approaches to societal grand challenges. This is due for publication during 2025.
We end this editorial with a timely reminder that we have extended the waiver on Article Processing Charges on all submissions until the end of 2023. This means that those who submit to the Journal this year will be able to publish their research articles, interventions and special collections free of charge, although we do welcome voluntary contributions from those with funder support for OA publishing.
