Call for papers for a special issue of the TMG Journal for Media History

In 2021, the Netherlands celebrated 70 years of television. To commemorate this anniversary, a team of Dutch television scholars organised the Television Histories in Development conference, hosted by the Netherlands Institute for Sound and Vision. This event included the book launch of De televisie. Een cultuurgeschiedenis (Television. A cultural history), edited by Dutch television historian Huub Wijfjes. The chapters of this collection, as well as many papers at the conference, illustrate the overarching technological, institutional, and social developments of television, both as a medium in general and in terms of nationally specific contexts, including transformations from linear broadcast television to digital streaming, and from single public broadcast systems to the emergence of commercial television. While recognising the need for such encompassing narratives, for this special issue of TMG we invite contributions that call attention to overlooked aspects of television history or voices that have been silenced in the grand narratives of the medium. By giving these histories a platform, the special issue will illustrate how research on what resides in the shadows of the medium’s history can contribute to television historiography. We especially invite contributions on forgotten histories from lesser studied television contexts.

The topics of these articles may include, but are not limited to

  • voices of minorities in television history
  • misplaced histories in television scholarship
  • actors that have been made invisible over time
  • overlooked technological aspects or developments
  • personal or collective memory and television history
  • histories that have been gradually reframed over time
  • stories of below-the-line staff or assistants in the industry

We ask that the abstract proposal includes a note on how or why your study deviates from or challenges the grand narratives of television history.

On the basis of a 300-word abstract, to be submitted by 15 February 2023, selected authors shall be invited to submit an article of 6,000-8,000 words (including notes) by 1 July 2023. Revised drafts are expected by 15 January 2024. The issue will be published Spring 2024. Please send an abstract and a short bio to: josette.wolthuis@ru.nl

For questions, please contact the series editors, Dr Josette Wolthuis (josette.wolthuis@ru.nl) and Dr Jaap Kooijman (J.W.Kooijman@uva.nl). Information about the conference that prompted this special issue can be found here.