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Open Call for Papers

General Submission Guidelines

Siyabonana encourages longer essays and research articles, as well as oral histories, institutional reports, book reviews, commentaries, and creative works. Essays, research articles, reports, and oral histories/interviews should not exceed 10,000 words; review essays, film reviews, and commentaries should not exceed 3,000 words; and book reviews should not exceed 1700 words. The length of all creative work will be determined on a case-by-case basis.

Manuscripts should be submitted as a Microsoft Word document, double spaced, written in Times New Roman, size 12 font, and adhere to the most recent edition of the Chicago Manual of Style, APA Publication Manual, or MLA Handbook in terms of format and citation.

At the top of your submission, please include the following information in this order:

  1. Title of article (in Bold)

  2. Author’s first name and last name, highest degree (ex.  Kwame Martin, Ph.D.)

  3. Email address

  4. Academic title (ex. Associate Professor of Sociology)

  5. Department (ex. Department of Sociology and Social Work)

  6. University (ex. University of Cape Coast)

    • Repeat for all authors

  7. Abstract

    • Include a 150-200 word abstract under the heading Abstract.

  8. Keywords

    • Include 3 to 5 keywords that best reflect the content of the manuscript under the heading Keywords

 

Peer Review Process:

The journal has a double-blind peer review process. For all submissions, other than book reviews, the author’s name will be removed from the submission during the review process, and the author will not be informed about who reviewed their submission. We will attempt to have at least two reviewers from the editorial board and/or volunteer external reviewers comment on the academic quality of the submission, and submit a review report to the author.

​Publication Timeline:

Siyabonana: The Journal of Africana Studies will publish an issue every winter, summer and fall. 

Open Call for Special Editions

The Journal of Africana Studies intentionally positions itself as an inclusive and affirming discipline-based African-centered entity. Pan-African in scope, it simultaneously provides intellectual space for discourse about community social justice activist work and liberation struggles on the continent and within African world communities. Timely and radical intellectual research and creative pieces on the prison industrial complex; Africana/Black digital humanities; Africana genders and sexualities and Africana queer theory; the Black radical tradition; political prisoners; Africana/Black Psychology; mental health, nutrition, and holistic health; the African/Black Aesthetic; Africana spiritual philosophy; Black liberation theology; and Afrofuturism and Afropessimism are, therefore, welcome. 

 

If scholars, independent authors, writers, activists, and artists would like to edit a special edition that reflects the aim and scope of the journal, please submit a 500-word abstract summarizing the purpose of the special edition, including the tentative title, guest editor(s) of the proposed special edition, affiliation(s), and email(s) of the guest editor(s).

 

All abstracts should be uploaded in the Submissions form here.

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