Aims & Scope
The IAFOR Journal of Arts & Humanities publishes original articles on all aspects of the arts and humanities; that is to say, we are interested in works that study and document the varied ways in which people methodise and endeavour to decipher the human experience. In seeking to direct the journal’s critical perspectives toward innovative and pioneering terrain, we welcome articles that take a diagnostic approach to the assumptions that have long predisposed the study of literature, philosophy, art, history, religion, music and language.
The editorial team aim to bring meaningful, influential work to an international community of scholars as well as to a worldwide audience. As such, we only publish papers with substantial scholarly underpinnings that will appeal to specialists and non-specialists alike and will advance our understanding of the arts and humanities. Given the journal’s wide scope, the research submitted must rise above the limitations of narrow, confined case studies. Where such studies are submitted, they must offer insights into issues of general interest to scholars.
The journal Editor welcomes submissions related to the arts and humanities from academics, practitioners and professionals from within the field.
Occasionally, an issue might offer limited space to creative nonfiction. However, the work would need to sit within the scope of the journal and it would be subjected to review as all other submissions.
Please note that papers already submitted to or published in IAFOR Conference Proceedings are not accepted for publication in any of IAFOR’s journals.
All papers are reviewed equally according to standard peer review processes, regardless of whether or not the authors have attended a related IAFOR conference.
Submission Fee
There is no submission fee for the IAFOR Journal of Arts & Humanities.
Page and Colour Charges
There are no page or colour charges for the IAFOR Journal of Arts & Humanities.
Editorial & Peer Review Process
Initial Screening before peer review
Before being sent for peer review, the Journal Editor will first screen to ensure manuscripts fall within the journal's scope and that they follow the Author Guidelines. Contributors are expected to submit their work in the structure and style of urbane, academic-quality English. The contributors' style of expression must serve to articulate the complex ideas and concepts being brandished, conveying explicit, coherent, unambiguous meaning to scholarly readers. Moreover, manuscripts must have a formal tenor and quality, employing the third-person rather than first-person standpoint (when feasible) while placing emphasis on the research problem being analysed and not on unsubstantiated subjective impressions regarding the issue.
Contributors whose command of English is not at the level outlined above are responsible for having their manuscript corrected by a native-level, English-speaking academic prior to submitting their paper for publication. These standards are non-negotiable and strictly enforced by the editor of the IAFOR Journal of Arts and Humanities.
Peer review process
The IAFOR Journal of Arts & Humanities practices double-blind peer review. The review process is as follows:
- Submissions check, (the Publications Office makes sure that all information needed for processing the submission further was provided; that the submission complies with the Author Guidelines; and that the content is relevant to the journal);
- Plagiarism screening with iThenticate software;
- Submission is forwarded to the Editor who checks the work meets basic journal criteria; article anonymised and invitations sent to reviewers to review the manuscript;
- Primary checking of an anonymous submission, involving an assessment of its suitability for publication (based on the quality of language, compatibility with the IAFOR Journal of Arts & Humanities' Aims & Scope, evidence of research, and sufficiency of references to the international literature), performed by two reviewers independent of journal;
- Notification of the author(s) of the outcome of the review via a reviewing sheet(s) made available to the author(s). Reviewer comments must be objective and provided with the aim of helping authors improve their article. If the submission is found suitable, the author(s) are invited to make any necessary changes and return the article to the editor;
- Proofreading and checking whether the reworked article is written in compliance with the reviewer's comments and the Author Guidelines.
- Final plagiarism screening with iThenticate software.
Members of the IAFOR Journal of Arts & Humanities Editorial Board are experts in diverse fields within the arts and humanities. As of June 2018, there are 7 scholars from 5 countries on the journal’s editorial board. The Editor takes steps to always ensure that all manuscripts are completely anonymised.
We do not guarantee short peer review times, although reviewers are requested to return their review within 2 to 3 weeks. The editorial process may take more time (sometimes considerably) when there are extenuating circumstances, such as conflicts with the evaluators’ teaching duties at the beginning or end of an academic semester, or pandemics.