“New Perspectives on Computing History” is the second of two anniversary issues to celebrate the upcoming 50th anniversary of the IEEE Annals. This special issue will focus on where our field is, and where it is heading—materially, methodologically, intellectually, and ideally. To do this, the issue is designed to encourage and platform the voices of newer and upcoming scholars in the field of the history of computing, and aligned disciplines, and ask them to reflect on where the field has been, and where it is going. This issue invites a broad variety of scholars and practitioners to reflect on the past and present of computing’s history, through research-informed short articles (or practice-informed, in the case of practitioners). The envisioned length is roughly 2000-4000 words.
This issue seeks to expand the network of writers beyond just those who have frequently written for the IEEE Annals in the past, to ensure that this issue represents our changing field and welcomes in more voices as we embark on our next 50 years. For example, scholars in media studies, information studies, and a range of allied fields (see, for instance, Melissa Villa Nicholas and Tonia Sutherland) have produced critical scholarship related to the history of computing, while practitioners in other fields (for example, Clarissa Redwine and Meredith Broussard) have written about the computing’s historical and present enmeshment with social, political, and economic change. Essays that touch on issues like these—and beyond—would be welcome in this issue. While historical in nature, in alignment with our journals’ mission, this call for papers also welcomes topics, methods, and fields related to the history of computing, and its likely future.
Some of the topics and methods welcomed for this issue include, but are not limited to:
The goals of this special issue are to platform newer voices in the history of computing (both the up-and-coming authors on whom our future relies, as well as established voices from allied fields who have not published in Annals before), and to reflect the changing methodological and topical concerns reflected in the pages of the IEEE Annals at 50. As history of computing has increasingly become a popular topic of research for broad publics to consume, this special anniversary issue will aim to be accessible to an audience not only of academic readers and tech practitioners, but also consumers and critics of computing technology as well, from undergraduates taking their first history of technology class, to legislators involved in regulating high tech. This anniversary issue aims to ensure that the celebration of our past is also a springboard into our future, welcoming new voices, ideas, and topics into our pages.
Please send 200–500 word abstracts to the issue editor, Mar Hicks (mhicks@virginia.edu) for consideration for this issue by 1 August 2027. You are also welcome to write with questions at any time before submitting an abstract. Graduate students and recent PhDs are especially encouraged to submit. If your abstract is accepted, full submissions will then be requested (made through IEEE Author Portal by 1 November 2027). Submissions will be peer reviewed both as essays, for clarity and cogency, as well as research works (where applicable).
For author information and guidelines on submission criteria, visit the Author’s Information Page. Please submit papers through the IEEE Author Portal and be sure to select the special issue or special section name. Manuscripts should not be published or currently submitted for publication elsewhere.
In addition to submitting your paper to Computer, you are also encouraged to upload the data related to your paper to IEEE DataPort. IEEE DataPort is IEEE's data platform that supports the storage and publishing of datasets while also providing access to thousands of research datasets. Uploading your dataset to IEEE DataPort will strengthen your paper and will support research reproducibility. Your paper and the dataset can be linked, providing a good opportunity for you to increase the number of citations you receive. Data can be uploaded to IEEE DataPort prior to submitting your paper or concurrent with the paper submission. Thank you!
