Policies/Submissions
Contents
The Journal of International Women's Studies is an on-line, open-access, peer reviewed journal that provides a forum for scholars, activists, and students to explore the relationship between feminist theory and various forms of organizing.
- General Submission Guidelines
- Formatting Requirements for Submission
- Book Review Submission Guidelines
- Film Review Submission Guidelines
- Copyright Permission Request
- English Copy Editing Services for Non-Native English Speakers
General Submission Guidelines
Currently, we are not accepting new submissions as we catch up on the work of publishing already accepted articles. The submission link is temporarily closed and will be reopened on January 1, 2024. We recommend that contributions be less than 7,500 words, inclusive of footnotes and bibliography, but we will consider longer texts if warranted by the subject matter. All submissions must contribute to the feminist mission of the journal, as detailed in “About This Journal” on our website. Only completed work should be submitted for consideration on our online portal; authors who wish to consult with editors about work-in-progress should reach out via email to: JIWS@bridgew.edu. Contributions submitted to this journal should NOT be under consideration for publication elsewhere. All submissions go through a blind peer-review process, which typically takes 3-4 months for initial review. There is NO FEE to publish in the JIWS. While submitting your document, ensure you select from one of the following document categories:
- Articles are written by scholars, researchers, or professionals who are experts in their fields, publishing the results of research.
- Essays are also written by scholars, researchers, or professionals and include more subjective, personal and interpersonal reflective content, often challenging the norms of scholarly article formats across various disciplines. While feminist scholarly articles, rooted in feminist theory can also involve more subjective content essays largely reflect on research, scholarship, academic and professional norms to a greater degree through the lens of feminist ideals.
- Feminist reflections are unconventional first-person reflections in a blog or vlog format heightening the personal reflective component found in essays. There is less attention to conventional and scholarly modes of citation.
- Fictional/creative works are also encouraged. We seek poetry, short stories, short plays, videos, vlogs or links to vlogs, blogs or links to blogs, photos of artworks, videos of short performance pieces, all of which should aim to heighten awareness of patriarchy, intersectional inequalities, and women’s subordination, and may also seek to transform these conditions and social inequalities.
Formatting Requirements for Submission
NOTE: Initial submissions and revised resubmissions that do not conform to all formatting requirements may be rejected and sent back to the author, delaying the review process or publication timeline. Please also consult published issues of the journal to see examples of the correct formatting. If you have specific questions about formatting or the submission process, please contact us at JIWS@bridgew.edu.
- Submit your manuscript, including tables, figures, appendices, etc., as a single file (Word or PDF files are accepted).
- Do NOT include your name on your submission to ensure blind review. Begin with the title only.
- Your document should be in Times New Roman, 12-point font, single-spaced, and left/right justified.
- Do not include page numbers.
- Please use standard 1” margins on all sides, including your tables and figures.
- After your piece’s title, include an Abstract of 300-350 words that summarizes your article’s topic, argument, methodology, and/or conclusions.
- After your abstract, include a list of at least 3 Keywords (or phrases) that convey your article’s topics, themes, and/or types of research methodology.
- All heading titles for major sections within the piece should be in bold face type, with no space between the heading and the paragraph that follows. If there are subheadings within the larger heading, use italics for the subheading titles. Insert one space before a new heading or subheading. Do not number headings, but you may number subheadings if there are more than 3 within a section.
- Literature Reviews: Please consider whether a section entitled “Literature Review” is necessary or comprehensive enough to warrant such a title. If your review of secondary sources is not comprehensive, offer a more descriptive title for the section, such as “Feminist Theories about Domestic Violence” or “Background to the Current Problem” as relevant to your paper topic.
- All paragraphs should be indented. Do not insert extra line breaks (spaces) between paragraphs of text. If you include a long block quotation within a paragraph, please insert one space before and one space after the indented quotation block.
- Quotations should be surrounded by quotation marks (“ ”). Do not use italics for quotations.
- All illustrations and tables should be labeled and captioned accurately. To the extent possible, tables and figures should appear in the document near where they are referenced in the text. Large tables or figures should be put on pages by themselves. All tables and figures must fit within 1" margins on all sides.
- Non-English terms (in any language other than English) should be set in italics. A definition of all non-English words and terms should be made clear either in parentheses or in a footnote.
- Titles of books and films should be set in italics rather than underlined.
- Follow APA or MLA citation styles, or a style appropriate to your discipline. Make sure to include in-text citations in parentheses for all material that you are drawing from your references.
- The References (or Works Cited) section should be single-spaced and in 12-point Times New Roman font. Use hanging indents for your reference list (i.e., the first line of the citation should be flush with the left margin and all other lines should be indented from the left margin by a set amount). After the last sentence of your article, please insert a line break—not a page break—and begin your references on the same page.
- Where appropriate, please use footnotes (in 10-point font) at the bottom of the page instead of endnotes. Footnote numbers or symbols in the text must follow, rather than precede, punctuation. Given the international nature of the journal's audience, footnoted explanations are necessary for all political, geographic, historical, and popular culture references.
- The document should be carefully proofread for English grammar, punctuation, and spelling. Submissions that need extensive English-language editing will be returned to the author, who will be responsible for seeking copyediting services before resubmission. A list of English-language copyeditors available for hire can be found at the bottom of this page.
- Permission to extensively quote from or reproduce copyrighted material must be obtained by the authors before submission, and an Acknowledgements section with details should be included at the end of the paper before the references section. Where photographs or figures are reproduced, acknowledgment of source and copyright should be given in the caption.
Book Review Submission Guidelines
JIWS accepts book review submissions that have not been previously published or that are not currently under consideration by other journals or publications. We prefer reviews of books published in the last 3 years.
Book reviews may range from 1,000 to 2,500 words (2-5 pages single spaced). We also publish book review essays (2,000 to 3,000 words) which may review two similar books or situate a book more extensively in relation to published research. We are looking for critical reviews of these books, as discussed below, not just a synopsis.
Book reviews and inquiries should be sent via email as Word Document attachments to our Book Review editor, Medha Battacharyya, at jiws.bookreviews@gmail.com
Book reviews must include:
- A brief overview of the contents, including a chapter breakdown (500-1,000 words).
- A discussion of the research methods used by the author(s).
- An evaluation of the strengths and weaknesses of the book with insights from the reviewer.
- Book reviews may also include a comparison of the book to other key publications in this field. If you do so, include in-text citations and a references section. For book review essays, a comparison is required.
The reviewer’s name, academic degree, title, institutional affiliation, and email address should be listed at the top of your document.
Film Review Submission Guidelines
The JIWS accepts film review submissions.
Film review articles may vary and range from 1,000 to 2,500 words, We seek critical, reflective reviews as discussed below in the ‘critique’ section, not just a synopsis.
Film reviews must be sent via e-mail as Word Document attachments to:
Mohosin Mandal, Department of English, MIET College, India. Email: mandalmohosin1@gmail.com
Avishek Deb, Department of English, GITAM University, India. Email:
avishekdeb1985@yahoo.com
Detailed information about the reviewed film should be listed in the following order: The reviewer’s name, title, and contact details (institutional/organizational affiliation and E-mail address) should be listed at the top of your document. A list of the following information should be provided after your contact information:
- film title;
- producers(s)/director(s);
- release year;
- length in minutes;
- film genre and type (e.g. documentary, drama)
- original language, and also indicate if subtitles are available;
Detailed information about the critique of the film must include:
A brief synopsis that should not be more than 1000 words, while the critique should discuss more fully the value of the film with insights by the reviewer. The critique should focus on gender issues as relevant to the JIWS readership. Film reviews may have endnotes with citations appropriate to the reviewer’s discipline.
Copyright Permission Request
The JIWS does not charge for:
- Authors to replicate their own work, regardless of where they are publishing.
- Authors to republish copyrighted material in not-for-profit publications.
- Students wanting to republish their work for educational purposes.
- Republication of the abstract only.
- Up to five copies for personal use.
- Republication of copyrighted material in which they are not the author, in for-profit publications.
- Photocopying of more than five copies
Republication Policy
1) University repositories: The JIWS allows republication of articles and other publication genres in university repositories with proper citation of the JIWS. It is not necessary to contact us to download a JIWS and deposit it in a university repository.
2) Edited collections and readers: The JIWS allows the republication of articles and other republication genres in edited volumes and readers with permission from the editor. There is a republication fee which on occasion is waived on request and evaluation.
Please e-mail the JIWS at jiws@bridgew.edu for permission and information about fees, and if information about your particular request is not included.
English Copy Editing Services for Non-Native English Speakers
- Anita Balakrishnan, English Department, Queen Mary's College, Chennai, India. shalkri@gmail.com
- Ayantika Dhar, Postgraduate department of English, University of Calcutta, India. ayantikadhar@gmail.com
- Emily Brunelle, Research Assistant, Economic Development Assistance Consortium, Massachusetts, USA. emilymichelle440@gmail.com
- Gale McCall, JIWS Editorial Assistant, Bridgewater, Massachusetts, USA. mccalldpt@gmail.com
- Goutam Karmakar, Assistant Professor of English, Barabazar BTM College, Sidho-Kanho-Birsha University, West Bengal, India. goutamkrmkr@gmail.com
- Dr. Mehak Burza, Head of Global Holocaust and Religious Studies, Global Center for Religious Research, USA. mehakburza@gmail.com
- Perviz Masani, Freelance Copyeditor and Proofreader. perviz9@hotmail.com
- Qazi Mustabeen Noor, English and Cultural Studies Department, McMaster University, Montreal, Canada mustabeen93@gmail.com
- Sharmila Ghosh moeshoujo@gmail.com
- Tracy Hayes, Independent Researcher and Member of the Thomas Hardy Society tracyhayes1840@gmail.com
- Hannah White, Freelance Editor jiwsgradassistant2@gmail.com