How HSS Scholarly Publishing Supports Social Justice: Bringing Together Social Sciences and Humanities

Scholarly publishing extends beyond disseminating research. Editorial and internal practices, community engagement, and spreading awareness for social issues all comprise a publisher’s mission and cultural influence. So how do publishers strike a balance between activism and critical research? Are those two goals really in opposition to each other? How can recognizing and responding to the current social climate and inequalities strengthen a publisher’s ultimate goal of advancing knowledge?

In this series, Felicity Plester, Editorial Director for Humanities, and Tamsine O’Riordan, Editorial Director for Social Science, both at Palgrave Macmillan, dig into how the publisher prioritizes social justice through publications and company initiatives. In particular, they share how the Humanities and Social Sciences (HSS) play a unique part in fostering interdisciplinary work and understanding the world around us. Further, Felicity and Tamsine discuss DEI policies at Palgrave Macmillan, the challenges of the peer review process, and the evolution of digital trends.

In this first episode, Felicity and Tamsine provide some background on their positions at Palgrave Macmillan and help situate HSS within the broader scholarly publishing ecosystem. In addition, they explore the role that publishers play in affecting change though research, innovation, and following or dictating trends. They also discuss Palgrave Macmillan’s merger with Springer Nature and how it has impacted workflows, output, and name recognition.

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