Scholarly Essay Submission Guidelines
Scope and Purpose
Scholarly essays should present original research that critically engages questions of materiality, process, labor, and the act of making across visual and material cultures. Submissions may address how materials shape meaning, how making operates as a site of knowledge production, and how processes of fabrication, transformation, and circulation intersect with social, political, ecological, and historical forces.
The journal welcomes historically grounded, methodologically innovative, theoretically engaged work, including—but not limited to—studies of material agency, techniques and technologies, craft and labor, reuse and repair, embodiment, extraction, ecology, circulation, and the afterlives of objects.
Submissions must be original, unpublished work not under consideration elsewhere.
Length
3,000–10,000 words, inclusive of footnotes. Essays must demonstrate a clear argument, engagement with relevant scholarship, and length-appropriate scope.
Abstract and Title
Each submission must include:
Manuscript Formatting
Citation Style
Images and Illustrations (if applicable)
Images may be included when essential to the argument.
Review and Anonymization
All submissions undergo rigorous editorial review by the journal’s editorial staff and participating faculty.
To support a fair and impartial evaluation at the initial stage, authors should submit an anonymized manuscript:
Language and Style
Author Eligibility
Submissions are open to MA and PhD students at any stage of study and from all institutions. Participation in the associated graduate conference is not required.
Submission Process
All materials must be submitted by email to [email protected] by the July 1, 2026 deadline.
A complete submission should include the following separate attachments:
Editorial Process
Authors may be asked to revise and resubmit prior to acceptance. Accepted essays will undergo editorial review for argumentative clarity, rhetorical consistency, and written style prior to publication.
Scholarly essays should present original research that critically engages questions of materiality, process, labor, and the act of making across visual and material cultures. Submissions may address how materials shape meaning, how making operates as a site of knowledge production, and how processes of fabrication, transformation, and circulation intersect with social, political, ecological, and historical forces.
The journal welcomes historically grounded, methodologically innovative, theoretically engaged work, including—but not limited to—studies of material agency, techniques and technologies, craft and labor, reuse and repair, embodiment, extraction, ecology, circulation, and the afterlives of objects.
Submissions must be original, unpublished work not under consideration elsewhere.
Length
3,000–10,000 words, inclusive of footnotes. Essays must demonstrate a clear argument, engagement with relevant scholarship, and length-appropriate scope.
Abstract and Title
Each submission must include:
- An abstract of 150–200 words summarizing the essay’s argument, material scope, and contribution to the field
- A title that is both compelling and informative
Manuscript Formatting
- Submit manuscripts as Microsoft Word (.doc or .docx) files
- Double-spaced throughout, except for block quotations and notes, which should be single-spaced
- Times New Roman 12-point font
- One-inch margins on all sides
- Pages numbered consecutively, with the first written page being page 1
Citation Style
- Chicago Manual of Style notes and bibliography format
- Use footnotes rather than endnotes
- Provide full citations at first reference and shortened citations thereafter
- Provide a separate bibliography at the manuscript’s end
Images and Illustrations (if applicable)
Images may be included when essential to the argument.
- Submit images as separate files. Do not embed them in the manuscript.
- Minimum resolution: 300 dpi
- Accepted formats: .jpg
- Number all images consecutively and reference them in the text (e.g., “Fig. 1”)
- Include a list of captions with full object information (artist/maker, title, date, medium, dimensions, and source, whether institutional or otherwise)
- Authors are responsible for securing any necessary image permissions prior to publication
Review and Anonymization
All submissions undergo rigorous editorial review by the journal’s editorial staff and participating faculty.
To support a fair and impartial evaluation at the initial stage, authors should submit an anonymized manuscript:
- Remove the author’s name and institutional affiliation from the manuscript
- Avoid self-identifying references in the text and notes
- Submit identifying information in a separate document
Language and Style
- Essays should be written in clear, scholarly prose accessible to a broad art-historical audience
- Specialized terminology should be defined
- Arguments should be clearly situated within existing scholarship
Author Eligibility
Submissions are open to MA and PhD students at any stage of study and from all institutions. Participation in the associated graduate conference is not required.
Submission Process
All materials must be submitted by email to [email protected] by the July 1, 2026 deadline.
A complete submission should include the following separate attachments:
- An anonymized manuscript (.doc or .docx)
- A separate author information document (name, institutional affiliation, degree program, and contact email)
- An abstract (150–200 words) and 5–7 keywords
- Image files and captions (if applicable)
Editorial Process
Authors may be asked to revise and resubmit prior to acceptance. Accepted essays will undergo editorial review for argumentative clarity, rhetorical consistency, and written style prior to publication.
