In November, 2011 I watched a slightly wild-eyed Italian man mount the stage of a Montreal hotel banquet hall and announce to the world that he was launching a new open access journal that would fundamentally alter the world of anthropology, and perhaps the world at large. Having watched previous world-changing initiatives burn up when entering the atmosphere of the realityverse, I was a little skeptical. What I wanted to see, I claimed, wasn’t the first issue of HAU, it was the fifth. Starting something is easy — keeping it growing is hard.
Last week, the fifth issue of HAU appeared.
Congratulations and mahalo to Giovanni, Stéphane, Sean, Holly, Philip, and the people who worked to produce HAU. I think I owe Giovanni a drink.
Hear, hear! We are all enriched by the relentless brilliance of HAU which brings much to the intellectual table: a genuinely international set of perspectives, a provocative sensibility in its organization and execution, and a rigorous and stimulating peer-reviewed open access journal. Much needed and much appreciated!
Just the other day I advised one of my grad students to go read the entire slate of articles on kingship and sovereignty in the first issue of HAU; providing such good food for thought in relationship to current conventional thinking on the topic. I think the discipline is ready for a plurality of theoretical perspectives again and HAU is absolutely one of the sites where this is taking place. Bravo to HAU’s editorial team for their vision and commitment.