Dr. Tony Jarrells, of the University of South Carolina English Department, has been appointed editor of the journal Studies in Scottish Literature.
Founded in 1963 by former USC English and Comparative Literature professor Dr. G. Ross Roy, a noted scholar of Scottish Literature, Studies in Scottish Literature is the oldest journal in the field of Scottish studies. An avid collector of Scottish Literature, Roy donated many of his materials to University of South Carolina Libraries, creating the The G. Ross Roy Collection of Burnsiana & Scottish Literature.
Roy served as editor for the journal’s first thirty-six volumes before passing the mantle to Jarrells and Dr. Patrick Scott, retired English Professor and former Director of Rare Books at University of South Carolina Libraries, who have served as joint editors since 2012.
Previously published by University of South Carolina Libraries, the journal will now be published through the Edinburgh University Press.
Jarrells, who specializes in Romanticism, Eighteenth-Century Literature and Scottish Literature, is the author of Britain's Bloodless Revolutions and Blackwood’s Magazine and the editor of John Galt’s Scottish Stories, The Edinburgh Edition of the Selected Works of John Galt, part of the Edinburgh edition of the selected works of John Galt. He has run two recent international conferences hosted at USC, one on 18th century Scottish studies and the other on Walter Scott.
Scott, who will continue to serve as consulting editor for the journal, has published extensively on Scottish literature, especially on the manuscripts and publishing history of Robert Burns. His recent books include documentary biographies of Robert Burns and Robert Louis Stevenson, and a census of Burns's Kilmarnock edition. In April of 2015, Scott was elected an honorary fellow of the Association for Scottish Literary Studies.
The continuation of the Journal’s publication keeps the University of South Carolina’s finger on the pulse of Scottish Studies, according to Jarrells. USC remains in the middle of the growing field of Scottish Studies, in part because of the G. Ross Roy Collection, which is the largest archive of its kind outside of Scotland.
“Studies in Scottish Literature’s transition to Edinburgh University Press is a happy development that will keep the journal and the library’s excellent collections at the center of Scottish Studies,” Jarrells says. “Thanks to the work of G. Ross Roy and Patrick Scott, SSL is now recognized internationally as the major journal in this exciting field of study.”
In his tenure as Editor, Jarrells hopes to expand the reach of the Journal as well as the field. New research brings forward more potential ideas to publish and discuss. These might have less to do with strictly conventional Scottish Studies, and more to do with the thematic elements that are rooted in traditional Scottish literature and culture. As the field flourishes and expands, so do the publications in the journal. The journal has been, and will continue, moving towards an intellectual diversity that encompasses more topics.
The Journal is a continuing connection to the University’s long-standing history with Scottish Studies, bringing international ideas and voices together. You can read past volumes of the journal here.