Fordham PhD becomes Journal Editor

Paul Thifault (PhD, Early American, 2012), who is an assistant professor at Springfield College, has recently been selected as Co-Editor of Resources for American Literary Study (Penn State University Press). Founded in 1971, RALS is a peer-reviewed journal of archival and bibliographical scholarship covering all periods of American literature. Under the new editorship of Thifault and Nancy Sweet (Cal State Sacramento), the journal will move from an annual to a biannual publication and expand its coverage to include the digital humanities and literary pedagogies.

“It’s an exciting time for archival and bibliographical research in American literature,” says Thifault, “as our very notions of the archive, the book, and what counts as ‘American literature’ are all in flux.” While featuring the work of early-career and senior scholars, RALS also welcomes graduate student submissions because, as Thifault notes, “the nature of orals-prep and proposal writing makes grad students aware of patterns and gaps in critical bibliography, not to mention that so many graduate students now spend fellowship time in the archives, digitally and physically.”

The journal’s “Prospects” essays, which forecast future developments in the scholarly study of major authors, are also an excellent resource for students in the process of devising thesis or dissertation topics.

For inquiries, send an email to ethifault@springfieldcollege.edu

For submissions, visit http://www.psupress.org/Journals/jnls_rals.html

Or follow RALS on Twitter @ForLiterary