Mission Statement

Mission Statement

H-Net: Humanities and Social Sciences Online (H-Net) is an independent, non-profit scholarly association that offers an open academic space for scholars, teachers, advanced students and related professionals. H-Net’s digital platform, The Commons, provides a dynamic array of functions that allow academics to engage with each other, collaboratively produce knowledge, and disseminate information to its subscribers and the general public. Built around an online system of networks moderated by certified editors, H-Net is uniquely situated to encourage technological innovation in the humanities and social sciences while safeguarding academic best practices.

Vision Statement

Our vision is of the humanities and social sciences transformed by the immense potential of digital technologies and oriented around moderated intellectual exchange, collaborative production, and the open dissemination of knowledge.

Values Statement

H-Net's work is guided and informed by our commitment to:

  • high standards of scholarly, pedagogical and professional behavior: we are committed to core academic values and best practices.  Our institutional and digital framework protects intellectual autonomy, foregrounds the intrinsic intellectual value of scholarship and debate, and insulates contributors from conflicts of interest. We respect each other's way of thinking and promote civility and community-building. Peer review and editorial moderation of content are expressions of this value.
  • a pluralistic and democratic way of decision-making: we foster a culture that welcomes new participants from all academic backgrounds and that expects decisions to be based on widespread and collegial consultation.
  • principles of Open Access: we believe in the promise of global knowledge exchange and the need to improve the quality and value of access to it, regardless of wealth or affiliation. As expressions of this value, we are committed to the preservation and searchability of all H-Net published content, and to remaining non-profit and free of commercial advertising.