Transition Magazine
{{Short description|International magazine about race and culture}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2025}}
{{Infobox magazine
| title = Transition Magazine
| cover =
| editor = Alejandro de la Fuente
| category = Political and literary
| language = English
| publisher = Indiana University Press for the Hutchins Center, Harvard University
| country = United States
| frequency = Two to four times per year
| founded = {{start date and age|1961}}
| founder = Rajat Neogy
| website = {{URL|http://hutchinscenter.fas.harvard.edu/transition}}
| oclc = 890394318
| issn = 1527-8042
}}
Transition Magazine was established in 1961 by Rajat Neogy as Transition Magazine: An International Review. It was published from 1961 to 1976 in various countries on the African continent, and since 1991 in the United States. In recent years it has been published between twice and four times per year by Indiana University Press, since 2013 on behalf of the Hutchins Center for African and African American Research at Harvard University.
History
Upon his 1961 return to Kampala, Uganda, from studies in London, 22-year-old Rajat Neogy established Transition Magazine: An International Review.Julius Sigei and Ciugu Mwagiru, [http://www.nation.co.ke/News/Humble-magazine-that-nurtured-Africas-thinkers/-/1056/1633900/-/njn1nfz/-/index.html "Humble magazine that nurtured Africa's thinkers"], Daily Nation, 1 December 2012. The magazine was partially funded by the Congress for Cultural Freedom, an anti-communist advocacy group whose ties to the Central Intelligence Agency were then unknown. Transition served as a major literary platform of East African writers and intellectuals during the Cold War.[https://web.archive.org/web/20060616213245/http://cia.gov/csi/studies/95unclass/Warner.html Origins of the Congress for Cultural Freedom, 1949–50] In 1962, Christopher Okigbo was appointed as editor of a West African edition.Paul Theroux, [https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/obituary-rajat-neogy-1324133.html "Obituary: Rajat Neogy"], The Independent, 15 January 1996
In 1968, the Ugandan government jailed Neogy for sedition; the magazine had criticized President Milton Obote's proposed constitutional reforms. After Neogy's release, the magazine began publication in Ghana from 1971. Nigerian writer Wole Soyinka became editor in 1973, but in 1976 the magazine was forced to cease publication for financial reasons.{{cite web | title=Transition History | website=The Hutchins Center for African & African American Research | url=https://hutchinscenter.fas.harvard.edu/transition-history | access-date=11 December 2020}}
Henry Louis Gates, Jr, previously a frequent contributor to Transition when published in Ghana, revived the magazine in 1991. Under his leadership, Transition evolved into "an international magazine about race and culture, with an emphasis on the African diaspora".
It is not clear when the journal was first published in the US, but since the Hutchins Center was established in 2013, it has supported publication of the journal.{{cite web | last=Rocheleau | first=Matt | title=Harvard announces launch of Hutchins Center for African and African American Research through $15m gift | website=Boston.com | date=18 September 2013 | url=http://archive.boston.com/yourcampus/news/harvard/2013/09/harvard_announces_launch_of_hutchins_center_for_african_and_african_american_research_through_15m_gi.html | access-date=11 December 2020}}
{{as of|2020}} the editor is Alejandro de la Fuente. Soyinka is chair of the editorial board, and Gates and Kwame Anthony Appiah are named as the publishers.{{cite web | title=Transition | website=Indiana University Press | date=21 April 2020 | url=https://iupress.org/journals/transition/ | access-date=11 December 2020}}
Former editors
Former editors include:{{citation needed|date=December 2020}}
{{div col|colwidth=30em}}
- Rajat Neogy
- Wole Soyinka
- Henry Finder
- Michael C. Vazquez
- F. Abiola Irele
- Laurie Calhoun
- Tommie Shelby
- Glenda Carpio
- Vincent Brown
{{div end}}
See also
- Congress for Cultural Freedom – CIA program to fund anti-communist advocacy
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- {{Official website|https://hutchinscenter.fas.harvard.edu/transition-magazine}}
- {{cite web|url=https://www.jstor.org/journal/transition|title=Transition back issues from JSTOR| access-date=11 December 2020}}
- Hutchins Center back issues – {{cite web | title=Issue 102 – Let There Be Light| website=The Hutchins Center for African & African American Research | url=https://hutchinscenter.fas.harvard.edu/issue-102 | access-date=11 December 2020}}
{{Congress for Cultural Freedom}}
{{African American press|state=collapsed}}
Category:Magazines established in 1961
Category:Magazines published in Africa
Category:Political magazines published in the United States
Category:African-American magazines
Category:Literary magazines published in the United States
Category:1961 establishments in Uganda
Category:Mass media in Kampala
Category:Triannual magazines published in the United States
Category:Magazines published in Boston