About the Journal

Focus

apropos [Perspektiven auf die Romania] is an open access journal which aims to illuminate the many and wide-ranging aspects of the Romance-speaking world from an interdisciplinary, co-disciplinary and cultural studies perspective: as well as contributions on traditional fields such as language, literature and culture, the journal also presents contributions on history, society, ideas, (contemporary/performing) art and political events that are innovative both in terms of their editorial approach and their use of media. The aim is to bring together the traditional sub-disciplines of Romance Studies in a pan-philological perspective. At the same time, however, the aim is to extend this perspective further and enhance Romance critical cultural studies that incorporates other (neighboring, inter-) disciplines – e.g. Area Studies, Visual Culture Studies, Media Studies and Theatre Studies, Gender Studies and Queer Studies, Regional Studies, Historiography, Philosophy and Political Science.

History

The idea of establishing an open access journal came about in the follow-up to the 31st Forum Junge Romanistik (Junior Forum for Romance Studies) – the largest conference for junior researchers in German-language Romance Studies – which took place at the University of Rostock in 2015. In this spirit, the journal aims to become a forum beyond the sub-disciplines of Romance Studies, providing a space for reflection and exchange between young and established researchers both within and beyond Romance Studies, and offering the interested public access to various current topics pertaining to the Romance-speaking world.

Formats

In addition to traditional and some peer-reviewed formats (special issues, individual papers, reviews), the journal is also a platform for freer formats (essays, interviews, workshop reports, mentoring for student contributions, translations of current and ‘overlooked’ texts from the Romance-speaking world, documentation of contemporary art from the Romance-speaking world). The aim is to use the full spectrum of the online format: purely textual contributions but also audio- and/or audio-visual contributions (e.g. performance recordings, interviews, short films, images) are accommodated.

Languages of publication

Multilingualism is a matter of natural course in Romance Studies, but above all it is an important prerequisite for the interdisciplinary dialogue that apropos[Perspektiven auf die Romania] aims at. However, the journal does not wish to regard linguistic diversity as a Babel-like confusion of languages, but rather as an enrichment within Romance Studies, but also in its inter- and transdisciplines.

Although Romance Studies, as comparative cultural studies, are historically located in the German-speaking scientific world have often been published in German, the multilingualism of apropos [Perspectives on Romania] - even within a single issue - not only aims to portray the Romance language speaking world linguistically, but also to give authors from this areas the opportunity to express themselves in their respective 'mother tongue' on (inter-)national topics. We therefore welcome dossier and article proposals from the Romance language speaking world in Romance languages (French, Italian, Spanish, Romanian, Portuguese, ...). The form of online publication also offers the possibility of translating selected articles and making them available in two or more languages.

Not only to guarantee the understandability and visibility of our articles beyond the Romance language speaking world, but also with the aim of initiating the desirable dialogue between German and English Romance Studies, our articles include an abstract in the language of the article and an additional one in English; articles can also be published in English with an additional abstract in a Romance language that is thematically related.

We are constantly working to adapt our website to the multilingualism of our articles and thus to become fully 'Romance' and internationally visible. In addition to a German user interface, you will also find the option to use our website in English, French and Spanish under the menu item 'Language' (top right).

Peer review process

In order to ensure the scientific quality of the contributions submitted, these are, as a minimum, peer-reviewed by the editors; in addition, special issue proposals, special issue papers and individual miscellaneous papers are also blind peer-reviewed by the editorial and scientific advisory board or invited experts. Firstly, this involves the editors checking that the authors have implemented the submission guidelines (see Submission Guidelines) and adhered to the copyright stipulations (see Submission), and making an assessment as to whether the submission is compatible with the focus of the journal. Secondly, proven specialists in the field of the respective submission evaluate its scientific quality. In order to guarantee a high-quality peer review process, we ask for understanding on the part of the authors, as it may be some time before we are able to confirm whether the submission has been accepted.

Costs

There is no article processing charge (APC).

Open access policy

This journal facilitates open access to its content. It is therefore committed not only to international scientific exchange but also to the circulation of, and equal access to, knowledge.

Archiving

The journal and all contributions published within it are catalogued and archived on a long-term basis by the Deutsche Nationalbibliothek (German National Library). The archive system at the Deutsche Nationalbibliothek has been certified as a reliable long-term archive in accordance with the Data Seal of Approval regulations.

apropos [Perspektiven auf die Romania] is edited by:

Christoph Behrens, Beate Kern, María Teresa Laorden Albendea, Joris Lehnert and Stefan Serafin.