Launching in early 2014, the new peer-reviewed Journal of Community Archaeology and Heritage (JCAH) will focus on the rapidly-growing sub-discipline of community archaeology and heritage. Among its international team of Editors and Editorial Board members, the University of Glasgow’s Dr Suzie Thomas is playing a prominent role.

Suzie, who is based in the Scottish Centre for Crime and Justice Research, was originally approached by the journal’s publishers, Maney, with the suggestion of proposing a new journal, during her previous post as Community Archaeology Support Officer at the Council for British Archaeology. Her role as Co-editor, which is on a voluntary basis, has her working alongside colleagues from Rice University in Texas, the US National Park Service, and University College London. The Editorial Board features 21 experts and community archaeology participants from eight different countries and four different continents.

JCAH aspires to be a place for the latest scholarly outputs on community engagement in archaeology and heritage, but also a place for participants themselves to write about their experiences. As writing for journals can be intimidating at times even for experienced academics, JCAH is piloting a ‘buddy’ system to help and support less confident writers.

Suzie said: “I’m truly very excited about this new journal, it’s not every day that you get the opportunity to be involved from the outset with something like this. We’re developing everything, from a dedicated blog, Facebook Page and Twitter account, through to the peer review guidelines and instructions for authors. Obviously, on a personal level, it is wonderful as it enables me to continue to keep abreast of the latest research, projects and reflections coming out of the vastly diverse field of community engagement in archaeology and heritage. At the same time, as the focus is on the people, the processes and the social outcomes rather than on the archaeology itself, it is entirely appropriate that somebody connected to a School of Social and Political Sciences should be involved in JCAH’s editorship. Of course it is also really great to have the University of Glasgow associated with exciting new developments in the capturing, analysis and dissemination of the potential that archaeology and heritage have to enrich people’s lives in a variety of ways.”

Suzie is a Research Associate on the interdisciplinary research project Trafficking Culture, which gathers empirical evidence on the global trafficking of cultural objects, and has funding from the European Research Council. Her previous experience researching for her PhD hobbyist metal-detector users in the UK blends her interests in both the illicit trade in antiquities, and the phenomenon of community engagement and voluntary action in archaeology.

The Call for Papers for JCAH is open.

First published: 1 July 2013

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