Beyond serving as an online presence for The Journal of the Early Republic by publishing supplementary materials for scholarship published therein, The Panorama is a platform for broader conversations related to researching, interpreting, and teaching the early American republic.  We solicit and present the more informal work of historians, including public historians, graduate students, and secondary educators, working on the time period.

We are looking for authors to contribute informal think pieces, reflections from the archives, teaching strategies and resources, and essays that thoughtfully connect the interpretation of early American history to the twenty-first century world we all inhabit. If you would like to contribute, please send a brief proposal and CV to Emily Arendt, editor of The Panorama, at Emily.Arendt@msubillings.edu.

Style Guide and Requirements

• Length: 800-1000 words.
• We generally follow Journal of the Early Republic style guidelines, especially regarding citation format, but also encourage an approach that fits with our less formal medium (more on that below).
• It is fine to include hyperlinks within the text.
• Include at least two illustrations, being mindful of potential copyright issues—images from sites like the Library of Congress and Wikimedia Commons are generally fair use and replicable without permission. Be sure to also provide captions and citation information for each image.
• Finally, be sure to provide a catchy title.

 Writing for Public-Facing Digital History Publications: Some Tips & Tricks

Producing content for a public facing site like The Panorama requires a different approach than the traditional academic style many historians learn in graduate school.  We solicit pieces that balance analytic rigor with an approachable style that helps bridge the scholarly and the popular.  Keep in mind the following when drafting for The Pano:

• We are looking for material that appeals to practitioners within the discipline as well as a broader audience. Is your topic timely, interesting, and relevant to professionals and a more popular audience?
• Consider a writing style that is less formal than what you might produce for a scholarly journal.
  • Come up with a catchy hook and state your main idea up front.
  • Use short paragraphs and simple, clearly written sentences.
  • Avoid jargon, technical language, and specialized historiographical debates.
  • Tone can be more relaxed: first-person language and contractions are ok!
• Visit this post more detailed suggestions on writing for public-facing publications like The Pano.

If you have any questions, please reach out to Pano editor Emily Arendt at Emily.Arendt@msubillings.edu.  She’s happy to answer questions or chat about whether your piece might be a good fit for the site.