Journal profile · PHILOSOPHY
Journal of the History of Ideas
ISSN 0022-5037 · eISSN 1086-3222 · University of Pennsylvania Press
Journal of the History of Ideas: CAS Zone 2 · Philosophy (2025 upgraded edition, Top journal); subscription journal; no APC; 48 articles in 2025; indexed in AHCI and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Journal of the History of Ideas is published by University of Pennsylvania Press and is in Zone 2 of Philosophy in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition, Top journal). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are American Constitutional Law and Politics, Historical Philosophy and Science and Reformation and Early Modern Christianity, together about 27.8% of its articles. Its main subfields are History. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Since its inception in 1940, the Journal of the History of Ideas has served as a medium for the publication of research in intellectual history that is of common interest to scholars and students in a wide range of fields. It is committed to encouraging diversity in regional coverage, chronological range, and methodological approaches. JHI defines intellectual history expansively and ecumenically, including the histories of philosophy, of literature and the arts, of the natural and social sciences, of religion, and of political thought. It also encourages scholarship at the intersections of cultural and intellectual history — for example, the history of the book and of visual culture. If you have already purchased a subscription to this journal, please login to your account to access your subscription.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): PHILOSOPHY
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- American Constitutional Law and PoliticsSocial Sciences10.7%
- Historical Philosophy and ScienceArts and Humanities9.5%
- Reformation and Early Modern ChristianityArts and Humanities7.7%
- Historical and Literary StudiesSocial Sciences7.2%
- Seventeenth-Century Political and Philosophical ThoughtArts and Humanities7.1%
- Classical Philosophy and ThoughtArts and Humanities6.1%
- Political Theory and InfluenceSocial Sciences4.7%
- History of Science and MedicineArts and Humanities4.4%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Philosophy Zone 2
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Philosophy | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Philosophy | Zone 2 |
Top journal: yesReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Philosophy Zone 2
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Philosophy | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Philosophy | Zone 2 |
Top journal: yesReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Philosophy Zone 2
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Philosophy | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Philosophy | Zone 2 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
Database indexing
AHCIScopusLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Editions, and major and minor categories, are shown separately and never merged into one zone; check which edition your institution uses before you submit or report.
Metrics
Impact metrics and publication volume
Impact
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 1LetPub ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.46LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 2.09LetPub ·
- h-index
- 94OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 1,477OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 0.24OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 0%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 0%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 33LetPub ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 3,767 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 46 | 3 | 2 |
| 2025 | 48 | 4 | 9 |
| 2024 | 35 | 5 | 20 |
| 2023 | 41 | 5 | 45 |
| 2022 | 39 | 6 | 93 |
| 2021 | 42 | 8 | 81 |
Sources count differently and were observed at different times, so each source's own value is kept; "publisher" marks figures from the journal's website.
Fees & open access
APC and open-access policy
Subscription journalLetPub
A subscription journal: articles are read by subscription or purchase, and authors usually pay no publication charge.
| Source | APC | Fee waiver | License | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Publisher website | No APC | — | — |
The journal's website is authoritative for fees; sources were observed at different times and each keeps its own value, without averaging.
Submission
Article types and submission policies (journal website)
Article types accepted2, with length limits
- reviewThe JHI publishes review essays. Typically, these essays are “long” (between 5,000 and 9,000 words) and consider multiple recent works on a given topic. The JHI…main text ≤ 9,000 words
- review essaysThe JHI publishes review essays. Typically, these essays are “long” (between 5,000 and 9,000 words) and consider multiple recent works on a given topic. The JHI…Length not stated
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteAI use, License & copyright, Open access, Peer review
- AI use
Reviewers prohibited from using LLMs or similar tools during any part of the peer review process. Model summary
Reviewers are prohibited from using Large Language Models or similar tools (e.g., ChatGPT) during any partof the peer review process as it may violate copyright protection of the author’s material as well as breach confidentiality.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- License & copyright Copyright and permissions
Authors grant exclusive license to the Journal of the History of Ideas, Inc.; copyright transfer agreement must be signed and returned prior to publication. Model summary
It is a condition of publication in the journal that authors grant an exclusive license to the Journal of the History of Ideas, Inc. Authors will be provided with a copyright transfer agreement that must be signed and returned prior to the publication of any work in the journal. It is the author’s responsibility to obtain print and online permission to quote material from third-party sources and t…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Open access Open Access Policy
Version of record (final publisher PDF) may not be posted on sites such as academia.edu and ResearchGate. Model summary
The Journal of the History of Ideas works with authors to ensure compliance with open-access mandates. We support Green Open Access, in which an author may post the Author’s Accepted Manuscript (AAM) on their personal websites, on noncommercial discipline-specific servers of preprints or postprints, and within noncommercial digital repositories of nonprofit institutions with which they are current…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review Review Process
All submissions are read carefully by the JHI’s executive editors; some are then sent out for external peer review. Please be advised that we do not provide evaluative reports on submissions that are not sent out for external review. The JHI encourages reviewers to consider the following questions when evaluating a manuscript: Does this piece make a significant contribution to scholarship; and if …
Source ↗Publisher website ·
Excerpts are quoted from the journal's website; "model summary" lines are written by Workers AI and checked against the text. The journal's website is authoritative.
Profile
Publication details and official links
- Publisher
- University of Pennsylvania Press
- ISSN
- 0022-5037
- Electronic ISSN
- 1086-3222
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗OpenAlex
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Journal of the History of Ideas
What CAS zone is Journal of the History of Ideas in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Journal of the History of Ideas is in Zone 2 of Philosophy, and in Zone 2 of the minor category Philosophy; it is a Top journal. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 2 of Philosophy. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
Which databases index Journal of the History of Ideas?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Journal of the History of Ideas is indexed in AHCI and Scopus.
Is Journal of the History of Ideas open access, and what is the APC?
Journal of the History of Ideas is a subscription journal. It charges no article processing charge.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, OpenAlex, Publisher website; every figure is tagged with its source and the date it was observed, and conflicting values are kept per source. LetPub source page: view ↗ (archived 2026-08-30). Last updated: .