Festschrift
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In academia, a Festschrift (/ˈfɛstˌʃrɪft/; plural, Festschriften, /ˈfɛstˌʃrɪf.tən/) is a book honouring a respected academic. The term, borrowed from German, could be translated as celebration publication.
A Festschrift contains original contributions by the so-honoured academic's close colleagues, often including their former doctoral students. It is typically published on the occasion of an anniversary. A Festschrift can be anything from a slim volume to a work in several volumes. It often includes important contributions to scholarship or science.
There is no fixed anniversary for a festschrift but they are frequently published on an academic's sixtieth birthday in Germany. In the case of very prominent academics, many Festschriften might be prepared. In Germany it is an honor to be designated to prepare such a collection, and being selected by a prominent academic to edit a Festschrift can symbolize the proverbial passing of the torch.
Since no English designation for such a book has been established, the German word Festschrift is widely used internationally. However, Festschriften are often titled something like Essays in honour of... or Essays presented to...
[edit] Academics who had a notable Festschrift
- B. T. S. Atkins
- Greg L. Bahnsen
- Jacques Barzun
- Martin Battestin
- Jagdish Bhagwati
- Philip J. Currie: Mesozoic Vertebrate Life: New Research Inspired by the Paleontology of Philip J. Currie, Darren H. Tanke and Keneth Carpenter, ed., Indiana University Press
- Gordon Clark
- Richard Dawkins: How a Scientist Changed the Way We Think
- Hubert Dreyfus
- Sigmund Freud
- Sir Raymond Firth Three Festschriften in his honour
- Helen Gardner
- Joseph Goguen
- Harriett Hawkins
- Raul Hilberg
- Richard Hofstadter
- Stephen Kleene
- James D. McCawley
- Thomas Schaub Noonan
- Carl Sagan
- AJP Taylor
- Cornelius Van Til
- Charles Williams
- R.J. Rushdoony: A Comprehensive Faith
[edit] Webfestschrift
Increasingly, Festschriften are being compiled and published by electronic means. An electronic Festschrift is often called a Webfestschrift (pronounced either /vɛb-/ or /wɛb-/). Although there are many valuable collections published online, the first public use of this term corresponds to B.I Marshak's Webfestschrift, Eran ud Aneran, published online on October 2003.