History of Nihilism: Special Issue

Jon Stewart’s recently published A History of Nihilism in the Nineteenth Century illustrates that contemporary nihilism, usually understood as the belief that life is meaningless, emerges from the secular worldview ushered in by the rapid expansion of scientific thinking in the early 1800s. Stewart’s work is part of a resurgence of interest in the history of nihilism, and the rediscovery and re-evaluation of figures often neglected by the tradition. In this special issue of Human Affairs, we invite new contributions to this history, as well as interpretations of it and reflections on how the history of nihilism has contributed to contemporary understandings of nihilism. We invite extended abstracts of a maximum of 1000 words (excluding bibliography). The authors of selected abstracts will be invited to submit a full paper of 4000 words (excluding bibliography). Papers will be subject to peer review and those accepted will be published alongside invited papers by, amongst others, Jon Stewart, Lydia Amir, George Pattison, Dean Komel, Manca Erzetič, Eva Dědečková, Tom Giesbers, Ashley Woodward and Peter Stewart-Kroeker.

Deadline for Abstracts: 31 December 2024

Deadline for Full Papers: 31 April 2025

Publication: December 2025

Abstracts are to be submitted online – select the option for the History of Nihilism issue: https://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/humaff