CfP: JTH Special Issue: On the Rail for China

Philipp Mahltig Discussion

The China Center of the Technische Universität Berlin (www.china.tu-berlin.de) carried out a workshop on “Trends, Concepts and Challenges of China’s Innovative Railway Transport” in November 2017. Following up from this workshop, we now invite its contributors and any other interested scholars to submit articles to be published in a 2019 special issue of The Journal of Transport History.

Demands on mobility are increasing worldwide. Especially China currently faces major challenges due to rapid social, economic and technological changes. Urgent problems include devastating environmental pollution as well as substantial urbanization and internal migration. Chinese municipal governments have taken measures to decrease traffic in large cities, such as the expansion of the road and track network and the announcement of new rules for car traffic. All this asks for a long-term analysis of the Chinese rail experience.

The papers in this special issue of JTH will bring together the competence of experts from different fields, sharing a long-standing vision about mobility and transport: historians, Social sciences and technology scholars, railway administrators, railway operators will present and discuss their views on China’s railroad development, focusing (not exclusively) on:
1. High-speed passenger systems;
2. Freight services of Chinese Railways;
3. Urban and local innovative mobility concepts.
Additionally, contributors could examine the long term technological, scientific and economic questions in the context of geopolitical developments and strategies concerning the New (Iron) Silk Road and the Belt and Road initiative (BRI).

In existence for over sixty years, The Journal of Transport History aims to circulate and promote the best and the widest possible range of peer-reviewed analysis and commentary on all facets of past transport modes. It also aims to benchmark and stimulate the craft of researching, curating and writing transport history in all its diversity. It seeks to challenge received wisdom, to provoke debate and to open new frontiers of inquiry.

The special issue will be guest edited by Dr. Sigrun Abels (sigrun.abels@tuberlin.de), Dr. Dirk Forschner (d.forschner@tu-berlin.de) and Philipp Mahltig (philipp.mahltig@tu-berlin.de). Together with JTH editor, Prof. Dr. Massimo Moraglio (jth.editor@tu-berlin.de), they will select papers based on their thematic fit, originality and scholarly rigor.

300 words abstracts are welcome until June 15th, 2018.
Please send abstract and any query to sigrun.abels@tu-berlin.de.

Contributions are expected to be research essays of 8,000 words (including endnotes and abstract). Other formats must be discussed with the guest editors. Papers will be subject to a double blind review process. Final submissions for the JTH special On the Rail for China Issue should be lodged by July 31st, 2018.

More about The Journal of Transport History at http://journals.sagepub.com/home/jth
Guideline for authors: https://uk.sagepub.com/en-gb/eur/journal-of-transporthistory/journal202520#submission-guidelines