The So What
A public-facing, digital publication focusing on the ‘whys’ and ‘so whats’ of medieval studies and pedagogy.
Winner of The Council of Editors of Learned Journals (CELJ) 2025 Best Public Outreach Award
One of the hardest questions for academics to answer is why your argument, your writing, your interests matter. A question made harder still when your interests lie several centuries in the past. But, the Middle Ages continue to haunt our now, lingering in films and comics, beer names, the rise of the alt-right, and the search for the ever-elusive ‘holy grail’ of skincare. To explore that difficult “so what” question, the project asks why what medievalists do matters, what we can learn (for good or ill) from the Middle Ages, and why the study of what was remains so important for what is and for what can be. The definite article in our title signals our dedication to the ‘so what question,’ asking scholars and creatives to consider their work in a broader context for today’s public.
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What does The So What (TSW) publish?
TSW pieces are peer-reviewed, open access works geared toward a broad audience. While our emphasis is on Arthurian material, we believe that more explicitly discussing the ‘so whats’ of medieval studies, including its connections to and appearances in more ‘modern’ and ‘contemporary’ culture is of great value to the field, to public discourse, and for promoting inquiry, equity, and justice. As such, we welcome proposals for pieces exploring the ‘so whats’ of medieval studies and medievalisms, as well as short, pedagogical and/or creative pieces.
Who can submit?
Both authors appearing in Arthuriana and those who do not have a forthcoming piece in the journal are welcome to submit to TSW. Types of submissions might include: short, accessible articles; detailed lesson or unit plans; annotated assignment sheets; and/or creative pieces in a variety of media, including audio/visual. The selection process will differ slightly, depending on whether the piece did or did not originate with an Arthuriana article (see our Submission Guide for more). Selection and editing will be anonymized, with review duties spread across members of our editorial team.
Reach out to us! Question? Comment? Correction? Please email our editors at thesowhatpub@gmail.com.
“I don't think things ought to be done because you are able to do them. I think they should be done because you ought to do them.”
- T.H. White, The Once and Future King
Editorial Team
Our Editorial Team is comprised of a sizeable group of established scholars, early career researchers (ECRs), contingent faculty, and independent scholars. All TSW submissions receive reports from two readers from our team, as well as proofs.
Editorial Team Rationale
Our team is large, allowing us to disperse duties, so that no one ends up overwhelmed. In addition, the mix of readers—including established scholars, ECRs, independent scholars, and contingent academics—provides a range of perspectives, as well as protected opportunities to and for those who are building careers and/or experiencing precarity.
Equity, Accessibility, Diversity, and Inclusion are deeply important to us; we welcome your feedback about ways we can improve or strengthen our efforts, particularly (though not exclusively) in those respects (you can contact us at thesowhatpub@gmail.com).
Editorial Team Members
Tarren Andrews, Gabrielle M.W. Bychowski, Laura Chuhan Campbell, Seeta Chaganti, Brittany Claytor, Jonathan F. Correa-Reyes, Steffi Delcourt, Brenna Duperron, Nahir Otaño Gracia, Alison Gulley, Kevin Harty, Mairi Stirling Hill, Jonathan Hsy, Alex Kaufman, Tzu-Yu Liu, Sierra Lomuto, Molly Martin, Christy McCarter, Maud McInerney, Arielle C. McKee, Mariah Min, Clint Morrison, Ryan Naughton, Tory V. Pearman, Sara Petrosillo, Bradley Phillis, Christopher Queen, Logan Quigley, Lynneth Miller Renberg, Christopher T. Richards, Robert Rouse, Sarah Salih, Richard Sévère, Margaret Sheble, Gale Sigal, Alexandra Sterling-Hellenbrand, Matthew Vernon, Usha Vishnuvajjala, Kevin Whetter, Adrian Whitacre, Clara Wild.
NB: to respect privacy, not all members are listed here, we are only providing the names of team members who wished to appear on our site.
Recent Issues & Articles
Medieval Murder: Blurring the Lines between History, True Crime, and Social Media
Social media comes in many forms: tweets, posts, blogs, podcasts, newsletters, and more. Over the course of the last decade, the lines between certain elements of social media and public history have begun to blur. Medieval history, in particular, could be considered a rather niche interest, but through the use of social media, historians and history enthusiasts have begun to widen their circle and expand the reach of their research, while also making it more accessible to a non-academic audience. One of the ways to make this leap from academic history to public history is through the rising public interest in true crime. For example, my master’s dissertation was entitled ‘Crime and Punishment: Homicide in Early Anglo-Saxon England.’ In order to stay involved with historical research, while also being on the fringe of academia as an academic librarian, I began a blog and Instagram account extrapolating on that dissertation called Medieval Murder.
Materials published in The So What can be distributed, remixed, adapted, and built upon for noncommercial purposes, so long as attribution is given to the creator.