Useful academic links
Funding
FWO (Fonds Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek: Vlaanderen)
The principal Flemish grant-giving body for Belgian academic researchers, based in Brussels.
Belgian American Education Foundation
An independent philanthropic organisation supporting the exchange of Belgian and American university students, scientists and scholars.
English Literature
BAAHE (The Belgian Association for Anglicists in Higher Education)
Network of Belgian academics working in English literature, linguistics and teaching English as a foreign language. Annual conference, and a journal, now called English Text Construction.
The Literary Encyclopaedia
Excellent online encyclopaedia written by academic experts. You need to subscribe to read full entries, but it is a lot more detailed and specialised than Wikipedia, and you also know exactly who wrote which entries.
SHARP (Society for the History of Authorship, Reading and Publishing)
Excellent listserve populated by experts, an annual conference, and a journal.
RSVP (The Research Society for Victorian Periodicals)
Possibly the most authoritative source of expertise on the subject in the world.
The Middlebrow Research Network
Network of researchers from all disciplines working on middlebrow as cultural productions or producers. Has published web-based papers, held two conferences, and is a contact point for the experts on the subject.
Galactic Central - magazine bibliography
Huge free online databases of cheap periodical fiction and their authors, ordered in many, many groups, dating from the late 19thC to the present.
Art History
BRIDFAS (Brussels Decorative and Fine Arts Society)
Offers illustrated lectures, in English, delivered by leading European speakers, all of whom are experts in their subjects. These lectures take place in Brussels, Belgium. Also provides regular guided tours to exhibitions, museums, and galleries. Events include Annual Study Days that offer a more in-depth approach to a given subject. Also offers assistance to BRIDFAS Volunteers in the restoration and conservation of Brussels' cultural patrimony.
Société internationale pour l’étude des femmes de l’Ancien régime
Online dictionary of women active in the arts, politics and history of France until the French Revolution; calls for papers, conference announcements, prizes.
www.archive.org
Amazing site that contains many out of print works that have been scanned and uploaded to the internet. You can download them as pdf files to your computer free of charge. Especially useful for historians looking for old biographies, old copies of journal articles etc.
http://cour-de-france.fr
Website containing information and articles on the history of the French court from the Middle Ages to the nineteenth century. Includes full texts of articles, book reviews, links to other sites, as well as offering a space for the publication of new articles.
International Studies
ISA: International Studies Association
ISA is a must for anyone interested in any field related to international studies. Their website is extensive for both members and non-members alike. Besides ISA yearly conference, they post regional conferences around the world on a variety of topics, call for papers, presentations, job openings and have several key list serves that are a must.
BISA: The British International Studies Association
An independent academic organization which promotes the study of International Relations and related subjects. BISA has a conference each year, near Christmas time, and posts many other interesting conferences and calls for papers on their website.
PSA: Political Studies Association
Founded to develop and promote the study of politics. PSA has a very useful site for listing calls to papers, conferences, and job postings.
List-serves
International Justice Watch Discussion List
If you’re interested in International Justice this is a vital listserve. It is a forum for the exchange of news, opinions, notices and anything related to international justice, International Criminal Court, international humanitarian law, and so forth. It easily averages 300 messages a month and is an excellent resource.
Coalition for the International Criminal Court
Discussion and Information related to the International Criminal Court
H-Human-Rights
Discussion network for scholars on the subject of Human Rights – developed and maintained by ISA Human Rights Section.
Open-access publishing
The impetus towards publishing academic research in Open Access repositories is growing, and, in Belgium at least, is receiving institutional muscle from the universities. At Liège, for instance, it has been or will soon be made policy that publications which are not also made available through Open Access will not be considered in job applications (see the link to the presentation from the Rector of Liège University, Professor Rentier, below). Ghent may go down this path as well. The move away from traditional academic publishing, where the publisher took the effort and the intellectual copyright of the researcher and made money from it (admittedly not often very much money, but enough to fund the academic publishing industry), towards a business model where the researcher allows publishers a licence to print her or his work and retains a licence to allow that research to be freely available, through such routes as Google Scholar or Google Books, is going to take a while to enable Open Access to become a standard means of publication. We need to be informed, and cognizant of what is going on.
Ghent University ran an afternoon of highly persuasive and informative presentations on this issue, and these can be viewed here (posted 1 November 2009, so they may not be there forever). The presentations by Alma Swan and Karen Van Godtshoven are relevant for newcomers to the subject who want an overview and the data. Professor Rentier's paper is the best one for a rabble-rousing rallying cry for the masses.
Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ)
A comprehensive list of OA journals in all fields, with background information for publishers and readers.
Digital Repository Infrastructure Vision for Europe (DRIVER)
The EU-funded program that has enabled European OA repositories to develop and expand in a coherent way. To find a repository in your own country, click on 'Search the Repository' portal.
Open Humanities Press
An example of an OA repository that acts as a 'publisher' for, in this case, critical and cultural theory.
Enabling Open Scholarship
This umbrella group exists to persuade academics of the benefits of Open Access publishing.
Science Commons
Advice and templates for alternative publishing contracts from Copyright Toolbox and SHERPA.
FWO (Fonds Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek: Vlaanderen)
The principal Flemish grant-giving body for Belgian academic researchers, based in Brussels.
Belgian American Education Foundation
An independent philanthropic organisation supporting the exchange of Belgian and American university students, scientists and scholars.
English Literature
BAAHE (The Belgian Association for Anglicists in Higher Education)
Network of Belgian academics working in English literature, linguistics and teaching English as a foreign language. Annual conference, and a journal, now called English Text Construction.
The Literary Encyclopaedia
Excellent online encyclopaedia written by academic experts. You need to subscribe to read full entries, but it is a lot more detailed and specialised than Wikipedia, and you also know exactly who wrote which entries.
SHARP (Society for the History of Authorship, Reading and Publishing)
Excellent listserve populated by experts, an annual conference, and a journal.
RSVP (The Research Society for Victorian Periodicals)
Possibly the most authoritative source of expertise on the subject in the world.
The Middlebrow Research Network
Network of researchers from all disciplines working on middlebrow as cultural productions or producers. Has published web-based papers, held two conferences, and is a contact point for the experts on the subject.
Galactic Central - magazine bibliography
Huge free online databases of cheap periodical fiction and their authors, ordered in many, many groups, dating from the late 19thC to the present.
Art History
BRIDFAS (Brussels Decorative and Fine Arts Society)
Offers illustrated lectures, in English, delivered by leading European speakers, all of whom are experts in their subjects. These lectures take place in Brussels, Belgium. Also provides regular guided tours to exhibitions, museums, and galleries. Events include Annual Study Days that offer a more in-depth approach to a given subject. Also offers assistance to BRIDFAS Volunteers in the restoration and conservation of Brussels' cultural patrimony.
Société internationale pour l’étude des femmes de l’Ancien régime
Online dictionary of women active in the arts, politics and history of France until the French Revolution; calls for papers, conference announcements, prizes.
www.archive.org
Amazing site that contains many out of print works that have been scanned and uploaded to the internet. You can download them as pdf files to your computer free of charge. Especially useful for historians looking for old biographies, old copies of journal articles etc.
http://cour-de-france.fr
Website containing information and articles on the history of the French court from the Middle Ages to the nineteenth century. Includes full texts of articles, book reviews, links to other sites, as well as offering a space for the publication of new articles.
International Studies
ISA: International Studies Association
ISA is a must for anyone interested in any field related to international studies. Their website is extensive for both members and non-members alike. Besides ISA yearly conference, they post regional conferences around the world on a variety of topics, call for papers, presentations, job openings and have several key list serves that are a must.
BISA: The British International Studies Association
An independent academic organization which promotes the study of International Relations and related subjects. BISA has a conference each year, near Christmas time, and posts many other interesting conferences and calls for papers on their website.
PSA: Political Studies Association
Founded to develop and promote the study of politics. PSA has a very useful site for listing calls to papers, conferences, and job postings.
List-serves
International Justice Watch Discussion List
If you’re interested in International Justice this is a vital listserve. It is a forum for the exchange of news, opinions, notices and anything related to international justice, International Criminal Court, international humanitarian law, and so forth. It easily averages 300 messages a month and is an excellent resource.
Coalition for the International Criminal Court
Discussion and Information related to the International Criminal Court
H-Human-Rights
Discussion network for scholars on the subject of Human Rights – developed and maintained by ISA Human Rights Section.
Open-access publishing
The impetus towards publishing academic research in Open Access repositories is growing, and, in Belgium at least, is receiving institutional muscle from the universities. At Liège, for instance, it has been or will soon be made policy that publications which are not also made available through Open Access will not be considered in job applications (see the link to the presentation from the Rector of Liège University, Professor Rentier, below). Ghent may go down this path as well. The move away from traditional academic publishing, where the publisher took the effort and the intellectual copyright of the researcher and made money from it (admittedly not often very much money, but enough to fund the academic publishing industry), towards a business model where the researcher allows publishers a licence to print her or his work and retains a licence to allow that research to be freely available, through such routes as Google Scholar or Google Books, is going to take a while to enable Open Access to become a standard means of publication. We need to be informed, and cognizant of what is going on.
Ghent University ran an afternoon of highly persuasive and informative presentations on this issue, and these can be viewed here (posted 1 November 2009, so they may not be there forever). The presentations by Alma Swan and Karen Van Godtshoven are relevant for newcomers to the subject who want an overview and the data. Professor Rentier's paper is the best one for a rabble-rousing rallying cry for the masses.
Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ)
A comprehensive list of OA journals in all fields, with background information for publishers and readers.
Digital Repository Infrastructure Vision for Europe (DRIVER)
The EU-funded program that has enabled European OA repositories to develop and expand in a coherent way. To find a repository in your own country, click on 'Search the Repository' portal.
Open Humanities Press
An example of an OA repository that acts as a 'publisher' for, in this case, critical and cultural theory.
Enabling Open Scholarship
This umbrella group exists to persuade academics of the benefits of Open Access publishing.
Science Commons
Advice and templates for alternative publishing contracts from Copyright Toolbox and SHERPA.
