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Southern Spaces
A journal about real and imagined spaces and places of the US South and their global connections

Southern Spaces combines innovative scholarship about real and imagined spaces and places of the US South with the tools of digital media. We publish work that represents and analyzes many souths and southern regions, offers critical scrutiny of any monolithic "South," interrogates historical developments and geographies over time, and maps expressive cultural forms associated with place. We welcome submissions from scholars, photographers, journalists, and artists in such areas as geography, southern studies, regional studies, African American, Indigenous, and American Studies, women's and gender studies, public health, and social justice. We are committed to providing a platform for the scholarship and work of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color and other marginalized groups. Please note that we reject any submissions that cater to white and Confederate apologists or uphold values rooted in racial inequality.

Authors interested in submitting to Southern Spaces should send all materials to managing editor Ra'Niqua Lee at seditor@emory.edu who will coordinate submission arrangements for large media files. Southern Spaces has a continuous publication schedule and accepts submissions throughout the year. The journal does not consider previously-published work or simultaneous submissions.

Contributors published in Southern Spaces retain copyright of their work. At the time of publication, authors provide Southern Spaces with a non-exclusive right to publish, and may also select a Creative Commons license. All publications, along with their associated media, are securely archived. There is no cost to authors to submit to or publish in Southern Spaces. Published items will not be affiliated with a volume or issue but will be identified by date of publication and Digital Object Identifier (DOI), which may be found at the end of the publication.

All Southern Spaces articles, digital projects, and photo/media essays pass through a rigorous, double-blind peer review process with at least two external reviewers. All reviews, blog posts, videos, and presentations undergo a rigorous internal review process.

Publication Types

Southern Spaces publishes eight different genres of scholarship: articles, interviews, photo and media essays, videos, presentations, reviews, blog posts, and monographs. The best way to determine if your work would be a good fit for our journal is to browse the variety of work we have published.

Articles

Articles are argument-driven interpretive or critical pieces that are the result of sustained scholarly engagement with a topic. We prefer that they incorporate multimedia, but they may start out resembling journal articles composed for print-based scholarly periodicals. Southern Spaces articles analyze and explore real and imagined places in the US South; make connections and comparisons between southern regions or locales and places in the wider world; or use textual, archival, and ethnographic data to challenge conventional ways of understanding the people, places, and cultures found in the South. All of our articles write from the perspective of spatial critique and undergo a rigorous internal review in addition to a double-blind peer review process with at least two external reviewers. For more details, see the Peer Review Process section of this page.

Monographs

Monographs are argument-driven, peer-reviewed publications that are usually substantially longer than articles and/or frequently contain more (and often interactive) multimedia and digital elements. Monographs undergo a rigorous internal review in addition to a double-blind peer review process with at least two external reviewers. Like articles, monographs emphasize a single research subject or topic and are the result of sustained scholarly engagement with a topic.

Photo and Media Essays

Photo essays curate collections of original photography or other multimedia to perform the same kinds of critical work articles do: to analyze real and imagined places and spaces in the US South, to make connections between the South and other areas of the world, and to challenge conventional representations of the South. While primarily photographic or media-based, these essays include a critical writing component. All of our photo and media essays undergo a rigorous internal review in addition to a double-blind peer review process with at least two external reviewers. For more details, see the Peer Review Process section of this page. There are no minimum or maximum word requirements for photo and media essay submissions.

Interviews 

Interviews are video-recorded or transcribed, edited conversations with scholars, authors, artists, and other cultural producers studying aspects of space and place in the US and/or global south. There are no minimum or maximum word requirements for interview submissions.

Videos

Videos use visual—as opposed to textual or rhetorical—techniques to advance a critical argument. The three types of videos we generally publish are

  1. Ethnographic: visual scholarship that is concerned with the analysis of culture, often using interviews and performance of particular human activity;
  2. Documentary: journalistic video that seeks to explore its content through a preponderance of visual evidence; and
  3. Lyric: video that engages in sustained critique through affect, refrain, parataxis, and nonlinear sequencing and is primarily neither ethnographic nor documentarian.

We especially favor work that combines ethnographic, documentarian, and lyric techniques to produce evocative and incisive visual arguments. Depending on the content and nature of the video, we may or may not put the piece through peer review (see the Peer Review Process section of this page for more details). We typically do not publish narrative or fictional film. Video submissions often include a short critical writing component. 

Presentations

Presentations include the media associated with the public presentations of scholarly work. Such presentations include lectures, conference papers and panels, and other scholarly events of interest to the critical study of space.

Reviews

Reviews are critical evaluations of recently published books, film, digital projects, music, events, and other art or scholarship that relate to the study of space and place in the US South. Although we appreciate reviews that give synopses of scholarly work, our reviews should address the spatial dimensions of the work's arguments and the place of the work in relation to existing scholarship. For more details, see the Book and Media Review Process section of this page. There are no minimum or maximum word requirements for review submissions.

Blog Posts

Blog Posts are non-peer-reviewed publications that consist of topical and timely pieces of commentary, and/or descriptions of websites, exhibitions, or events that we believe to be of interest to readers of Southern Spaces. Blog Posts are our most informal publications, consisting of discrete, often diary-style entries. Although blog posts do not typically go through blind peer review, they are evaluated by Southern Spaces staff, and when appropriate, by external subject matter experts.

Formatting

File Formats

For primarily textual submissions, please submit a Microsoft Word document (.docx, .doc) or, if your piece requires complex formatting, a Portable Document Format (PDF) file. Please send separate image, sound, and video files, even if the media should appear embedded in the text. Here is a chart of acceptable file types. For all media files, use the largest, highest quality version available.

  • For text documents, we accept .doc, .docx, and .rtf file formats.
  • For images, we accept .png, .tiff, and .jpg formats.
  • For audio files, we prefer uncompressed audio in .wav or .aiff formats, but we also accept .mp3 files.
  • For video and film, we accept .mov, .avi, and .mp4 files formats.
  • For digital projects, please submit in the best file format for the project, or contact the Managing Editor at seditor@emory.edu.

Document Formatting

Text documents should include a title, an abstract of less than one hundred words, citations in footnotes, recommended resources (divided into "Text," "Web," "Audio/Video," and "Related Southern Spaces Publications"), and page numbers. Please use a legible font and double-spacing. Avoid including your name or any identifying material in your document.

Style

We work from and prefer submissions formatted in accordance with the latest edition of The Chicago Manual of Style, but we also have a few house rules. Please consult our style guide.

Intellectual Property

Southern Spaces is an open access journal which means that all content is freely available without charge to the user or his/her institution. Users are allowed to read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, or link to the full texts of the articles in this journal without asking prior permission from the publisher or the author. This is in accordance with the Budapest Open Access Initiative definition of open access.

Southern Spaces uses Unicheck software to check every article for plagiarism during the review process. By submitting a piece to Southern Spaces, authors affirm that their work is original. Southern Spaces does not publish previously published work or pieces that are under consideration elsewhere. The journal does not publish work that has been falsified or misattributed in any way, including an author’s failure to properly cite her own work.

Contributors published in Southern Spaces retain copyright of their work. At the time of publication, authors provide Southern Spaces with a non-exclusive right to publish, and may also select one of the Creative Commons licenses listed below. Content is free to users. Any reproduction of original content from Southern Spaces not published under a Creative Commons license must a) give attribution to authors, b) not be used commercially, c) not be used derivatively, and d) should specify Southern Spaces as the site of original publication. If you wish to use the work commercially or derivatively, you must seek permission from the author.

Since 2014, authors may elect to license their work under the following Creative Commons licenses: 

  • Under a CC-BY (attribution) license, authors allow their work to be freely distributed, copied, and performed, as long as users give credit to the original work. A CC-BY license also allows for derivative works. An author might choose this license if she wants to provide the greatest opportunity for reuse.
  • Under a CC-BY-ND (attribution, no derivatives) license, authors allow their work to be freely distributed, copied, and performed, as long as users give credit to the original work. Users may not make derivative works, such as those "consisting of editorial revisions, annotations, elaborations, or other modifications which, as a whole, represent an original work of authorship."1"17 US Code, Chapter 1, Section 101-Definitions," Legal Information Institute, Cornell University Law School, accessed February 10, 2014, http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/17/101. An author might choose this license if she wants to retain the exclusive right to make such modifications.
  • Under a CC-BY-NC (attribution, non-commercial) license, authors allow their work to be freely distributed, copied, and performed, as long as users give credit to the original work, but only for non-commercial uses. This license also allows for derivative works. An author might choose this license if they wish to prohibit commercial publishers from republishing their work without obtaining further explicit permission. Authors should be aware that since much academic publishing is commercial, this license may discourage or "slow . . . down [commercial] re-use of content by requiring that people ask . . . permission."2Bethany Nowiskie,"Why, Oh Why, CC-BY?", May 11, 2011, accessed February 10, 2014, http://nowviskie.org/2011/why-oh-why-cc-by/.
  • Under a CC-BY-NC-ND (attribution, non-commercial, no derivatives) license, authors allow their work to be freely distributed, copied, and performed, as long as users give credit to the original work, but only for non-commercial purposes. No derivative works are permitted. This license is the most restrictive Creative Commons license offered by Southern Spaces. An author might choose this license if they wish to permit greater distribution of their work without permission, but also wish to restrict commercial entities from republishing their scholarship and prohibit all from making modifications to their work without permission.

Peer Review Process

Overview

Our peer review process is designed to provide assurance to readers and authors that all scholarship published in Southern Spaces has attained a standard of excellence, as judged by researchers who have expert knowledge in the pertinent field. All Southern Spaces articles as well as photo and media essays pass through a rigorous peer review after an internal review among editorial staff and editorial board members. Depending on the nature of the project, some videos are also peer reviewed. (The overview text of videos will indicate if it has been peer reviewed; if the overview text does not specify, then the video has not been peer reviewed.) Reviews, blog posts, and interviews, even when solicited, undergo an internal review process and are held to the same standard of quality as our other publications. Regarding conflicts of interest, the editor will ensure an unbiased review process for submissions from themselves, other colleagues, and members of the editorial board.

Steps in the Peer Review Process

After an author submits a piece, two members of the Southern Spaces editorial staff review it and determine whether it is an appropriate fit for the journal. The editorial staff, in consultation with the managing editor and senior editor, may recommend rejection, revision, or proceeding directly to peer review. If an author receives a request for revision and chooses to revise and resubmit the submitted work, editorial staff members will reassess the revised piece to determine whether the author has addressed the reviewers' concerns.

If the editorial staff and senior editor determine that a submission is ready for peer review, the piece then proceeds to double-blind review by two scholars with expertise in fields relevant to the submitted work. Names of reviewers will not be released to authors, nor will reviewers know the identities of authors whose work they review. Reviewers are asked to evaluate the submission critically with respect to conformance to the journal's scope. Other factors considered include an examination of the work's significance, methods, academic rigor, responsiveness to the latest literature and debates, conclusions, references, and overall presentation. If revisions are called for, authors may review shared comments and have the option of resubmitting or withdrawing their submission from consideration. If an author chooses to resubmit, the senior editor and managing editor will reassess the piece in consultation with its peer reviewers to determine whether it has addressed the reviewers' concerns.

After a piece has been accepted for publication, the senior editor will complete line edits in consultation with the author to reach a layout-ready version of the work. At this stage, the editorial staff will also ask authors to verify the permissions status of any author-submitted media. Authors are responsible for acquiring the rights to use any media they have submitted. The editorial staff will then lay out and copyedit the article. Authors will have the opportunity to review the final version of the laid-out piece prior to publication.

The managing editor of Southern Spaces will keep all authors informed as to the status of their submissions throughout the process. Published items will not be affiliated with a volume or issue but will be identified by date of publication and Digital Object Identifier (DOI), which may be found at the end of the publication.

Book and Media Review Process

Southern Spaces publishes reviews of recent books, films, digital projects, photography, recordings, exhibits, events, and other forms of art and scholarship that relate to the study of space and place in the US South. Most Southern Spaces publications foreground spatial analyses and make connections and comparisons between southern regions or locales and places in the wider world. Reviews should critically explicate and evaluate the work’s key arguments and contributions, drawing on the material to challenge conventional ways of understanding the people, places, and cultures throughout the South. Reviews should also assess the work’s significance to space and place, situating the material under consideration within relevant historiographies or artistic/aesthetic traditions.

Reviews published in Southern Spaces are typically 1000–2000 words in length, but we also consider longer review essays. Reviewers should submit a list of recommended resources that include books and articles, web resources, and audio/video material. We also encourage authors to suggest media to illustrate the review (e.g. audio or video clips, photographs, maps, or other figures). Reviews should conform to the Chicago Manual of Style’s notes and bibliography system. All citations of the work reviewed should feature the relevant page number(s) enclosed in parentheses.

Southern Spaces solicits reviews of specific texts, but we also welcome unsolicited submissions from new and seasoned scholars with expertise and interest in the following areas of inquiry: geography, southern studies, regional studies, women's, gender, and sexuality studies, public health, African American, Native, and American Studies, spatial theory, and digital scholarship.

If you would like to suggest material for review or have any review-related questions, please contact the review editor, Stephanie Bryan, at stephanie.nicole.bryan@emory.edu.

Internal Review Process

Due to our online and open access format, reviews reach a large and diverse audience and remain archived on our website in perpetuity. Reviews undergo a thorough internal evaluation process and are held to the same quality standards as our peer reviewed material. Please note that the solicitation of a review does not guarantee its acceptance for publication.

Book and media review submissions are assessed by staff members as well as managing and senior editors. Upon evaluation, some reviews will be accepted for publication, others will merit opportunities for revision and resubmission, and some will be deemed unsuitable for the journal. Once a review is accepted for publication, authors sign-off on a final layout copy. The managing editor of Southern Spaces will keep all authors informed as to the status of their submissions throughout the process. Published items will not be affiliated with a volume or issue but will be identified by date of publication and Digital Object Identifier (DOI), which may be found at the end of the publication.

Contact

For questions or additional information about the journal and peer reviewed submissions, please contact:

Ra'Niqua Lee, Managing Editor
seditor@emory.edu
Southern Spaces
Robert W. Woodruff Library
Emory University
540 Asbury Circle
Atlanta, Georgia 30322-2870

For questions or additional information about book and media reviews, please contact:

Amelia Golcheski, Review Editor
amelia.kathleen.golcheski@emory.edu
Southern Spaces
Robert W. Woodruff Library
Emory University
540 Asbury Circle
Atlanta, Georgia 30322-2870

References
1. "17 US Code, Chapter 1, Section 101-Definitions," Legal Information Institute, Cornell University Law School, accessed February 10, 2014, http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/17/101.
2. Bethany Nowiskie,"Why, Oh Why, CC-BY?", May 11, 2011, accessed February 10, 2014, http://nowviskie.org/2011/why-oh-why-cc-by/.
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