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

Apropos [Perspectives on Romania] has been published since 2018. In 2023, we could already look back on 10 issues with a total of 155 articles.

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 Romance Studies in German-speaking countries – which took place at the University of Rostock in 2015. In this spirit, the journal aims to provide a forum for reflection and exchange between young and established researchers, both within and beyond Romance Studies, and to offer the interested public access to various current topics pertaining to the Romance-speaking world.

Formats

In addition to traditional, some of which 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, Forum). 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.

Publication frequency

Apropos [Perspektiven auf die Romania] is published twice a year (summer and winter edition). The average time from submission to publication is 48 weeks.

Article Processing Charges (APCs)

Apropos is a pure open access journal. The journal does not charge neither article processing charges (APCs) nor article submission charges. For authors neither the submission nor the publication of articles in the journal incurs any costs. 

Archiving

All articles published by the journal are deposited on the archive server of the German National Library (DNB) and referenced in the DNB catalog. The archive system at the Deutsche Nationalbibliothek has been certified as a reliable long-term archive in accordance with the Data Seal of Approval and the Nestor Seal regulations. Hamburg University Press, the publishing house of the Hamburg State and University Library, holds all published volumes and articles in a sustainable manner.

Additionally, this journal participates in the PKP Preservation Network. This means that all content of the journal is archived within a private LOCKSS network. New content from the journal is automatically harvested. After a "trigger event" – either a clear message from the journal manager or the cessation of deliveries – the content is made available through the OJS instances of one or more LOCKSS partners.

INFO: LOCKSS is an acronym for "Lots of Copies Keep Stuff Save." The LOCKSS initiative is based on the premise that no single institution can provide long-term preservation. Therefore, this project consists of a cooperation of several libraries. The project was initiated and continued by the Stanford University Libraries. The LOCKSS software is open source.

Hamburg University Press

The journal is implemented as part of the publication services of Hamburg University Press and is hosted on the publisher's server.

Hamburg University Press is the open access publishing house of the Hamburg State and University Library (SUB). The publisher offers scholarly publication services. These include, in particular, the hosting of peer-reviewed open access journals along with consulting and support for their implementation, as well as the publication of books in both print and digital form (Gold Open Access).

Apropos sees itself as a scholar-led journal. Hosting by Hamburg University Press as a non-profit organisation of the SUB Hamburg means that apropos is able to offer an open access presence according to the latest standards and at the same time to guarantee the independence of all editorial and content-related decisions in line with the open science concept.