Professor Ricardo Ortiz has been named guest editor for a special edition of Public Humanities, a peer-reviewed journal from Cambridge University Press that publishes scholarship at the nexus of the humanities and public life. Ortiz is also a standing member of the journal鈥檚 editorial board.
For Ortiz, this is an opportunity to continue beating the drum for the value of the humanities, both within the halls of academia and out in the world.
鈥淔or higher education, the field of public humanities offers an opportunity to deepen and extend our commitment to innovating in some of the more traditional humanities disciplines, as well as in some of the newer inter-disciplines,鈥� said Ortiz, a professor in the Department of English. 鈥淚n the wider world, the practice of public humanities offers us an opportunity to act, and in meaningfully collective, collaborative ways, not only to bridge the divides between our campuses and our communities, but also to engage with otherwise unlikely partners in work that invites us to forge shared commitments and interests.鈥�
Launched this fall, Public Humanities is a new journal that seeks to 鈥渂ridge the connection between the academic and everyday life.鈥� To that end, the journal publishes research from across the humanities, regardless of discipline or methodology, that brings ideas to the public sphere.
A digital cover of the journal Public Humanities.
鈥淚t鈥檚 scholarship written with fire and footnotes,鈥� said Jeffrey R. Wilson, one of the journal’s co-founders and editors-in-chief, in a press release announcing the launch of Public Humanities. 鈥淭he journal is a response to the complexity of contemporary societal challenges and the demand to demonstrate the societal impact of humanities research,鈥� said Zoe Hope Bulatis, the journal鈥檚 second co-founder.
The first issue of Public Humanities, dubbed 鈥淭he Manifesto Issue,鈥� sought to 鈥渟et an agenda for public humanities in the years ahead.鈥� The forthcoming special issue edited by Ortiz is called 鈥淧ublic Humanities in Action鈥� and seeks to highlight the practical work of the humanities in the world.
鈥淭he special issue will contribute directly to the journal’s larger goal of establishing the scope, depth, and variety of approaches that qualify work as genuinely within the field of the public humanities,鈥� said Ortiz. 鈥淚n particular, this issue will showcase a wide array of publicly-engaged projects modeling successful collaborations between university-based humanities scholars, often themselves working in teams, and community partner organizations.鈥�
Ortiz, an expert on Latinx literatures and cultures within the United States, is excited by the global scope of 鈥淧ublic Humanities in Action.鈥�
鈥淎t its current state of development, the field of public humanities relies heavily on a case-study approach to archive and disseminate information about what鈥檚 happened, what鈥檚 happening, and what鈥檚 possible going forward,鈥� said Ortiz. 鈥淭his special issue has the added advantage of collecting case studies from around the world and not just the United States, in keeping with the global reach of the Public Humanities 箩辞耻谤苍补濒.鈥�
At Georgetown, Ortiz serves as the director of the , which launched in the fall of 2020.
鈥淓diting this journal is a great opportunity to bring our program to the attention of Public Humanities鈥� global readership,鈥� said Ortiz. 鈥淚t鈥檚 also a great opportunity to complement work by some of our excellent core faculty, in particular , who co-edited the Routledge Companion to Public Humanities Scholarship, and , who has been working with a team of ENPH students on the creation of Interspaces, our own Georgetown-based public humanities 箩辞耻谤苍补濒.鈥�
On the Hilltop, Georgetown has continued to invest in the humanities through the , which works to promote interdisciplinary collaborations across the university. In October, the 海角论坛 of Arts & Sciences celebrated the opening of a dedicated space for the initiative in the university鈥檚 historic Old North building with a ribbon-cutting ceremony.
Ortiz hopes that 鈥淧ublic Humanities in Action鈥� will not only catalyze a global conversation, but will continue to inspire Hoyas in the humanities.
鈥淚 hope the creativity, diversity, and impact of the projects we鈥檒l showcase will in turn inspire the creation and execution of an ever wider, more diverse array of future projects,鈥� said Ortiz. 鈥溾�楢ction鈥� is the keyword in our special issue鈥檚 title, and it should orient readers forward, toward that better future that endeavors like theirs might make possible.鈥�
Georgetown celebrated the opening of a dedicated space for the Georgetown Humanities Initiative, a university-wide project that aims to promote and strengthen studies in the humanities.
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When Ricardo Ortiz was named president of the Association of Departments of English, the author, professor and former chair of Georgetown鈥檚 Department of English planned to use his year term as president to address and counteract structural inequities that persist in literary departments across the United States and beyond.聽
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