An interview with the editors of the first issue of the Arheon journal (Boris Bulatović and Dragana Katić)
Interview conducted by: Ljiljana Bubnjević
Why is it called Arheon?
– The term Arheon comes from the old Greek word αρχαίος which meant ”old”, as seeing as how the very definition of an archive as an institution is associated with old documents, sources that help us look at the past in a correct way, we thought that such a title would be adequate.
How is the journal conceptualized?
– The journal is divided into segments which contain articles from fields such as archival science, historiography, cultural heritage, as well as attachments and documents, texts that refer to conservation and restoration and also reports about activities of the archive and reviews of books and exhibitions.
From a basic concept to its actualization, how did the creation of such a journal go along?
– We ambitiously accepted the idea by Director Nebojša Kuzmanović, about launching the journal (in September 2018), but we nevertheless had some skepticism when editing the first issue and we had some uncertainty when thinking about the end result of our work, seeing as how we didn’t have much time, no more than three months, to complete a compilation of other articles, the design, concept and the publishing of Arheon.
Were you surprised by such a response?
– Regardless of the everyday engagement and devoted work on creating the journal, it’s possible that luck had something to do with it. Nevertheless, when talking about actual editorial work, we can, with confidence, note that among the authors of 35 differently categorized professional and scholarly articles, there were 15 foreign associates and 17 professionals with a PhD from, in total, ten countries (Serbia, Russia, Slovenia, Croatia, Hungary, Romania, Malta, Kazakhstan, Vietnam and Barbados), which, in terms of exact parameters or at least indirectly, testifies to the quality of the first journal issue.
Can you mention some of the institutions where the authors of the articles work at?
– What stands out, even after a glimpse of the journal’s content, is the presence of six Russian authors, among whom three of them are from the Historical – Archival Institute of the Russian State University for the Humanities in Moscow, two from state archival institutes from Saint Petersburg, while one of the authors comes from the Institute of History of the Russian Academy of Sciences. As one of the ways for establishing extensive, professional and academic relations, the management of the aforementioned institute in Moscow offered the Archives of Vojvodina an invitation to cooperate with the journal История и архивы (History and Archives). Apart from the notable contribution from colleagues from Serbia and the surrounding countries, the journal consists of texts by authors from countries where the exchange of academic experiences is not so common, such as Barbados, Vietnam or Kazakhstan. In several cases, these were experts with highly valued international academic reputations. Along with that, additional proof that our work didn’t go unnoticed, is the fact that membership in the journal’s editorial board, after viewing the sent articles, was accepted by Charles Farrugia the President of the European branch of the International Council on Archives.
How satisfied are you with the work done and what are your plans for the upcoming period?
– Regardless of how satisfied we are about the work that has been done, we are still aware that ambitions should not overshadow humility, seeing as how the moment of success isn’t as important as the continuous success. In that sense, we would like to highlight how grateful we are to all our partners and editorial board members that have – while not knowing how much the quantitative range of the first issue of Arheon would be, which suggests a certain risk to it – nevertheless shown selflessness by choosing to give their own support for this periodical publication.
