Submissions

Author Guidelines

Please read the following guidelines before submitting to this journal. Submissions not conforming to the guidelines will be returned to authors.

Last updated: August 2022

Focus and Scope

Please read the focus and scope of the journal prior to submitting.

Submission Types

UnderCurrents welcomes scholarly and creative work. These include essays, poetry, photographs, visual submissions, video, audio, mixed formats, and more. We currently accept three types of submissions: 

1. Scholarly essays (between 3,000–6,000 words, exclusive of references)
2. Creative pieces (up to a maximum of 4,000 words, exclusive of references)
3. Book reviews (up to a maximum of 1,500 words, exclusive of references)

Preparing the Submission

Journal Policies

Please read our journal’s policies prior to preparing submissions. 

English Language and Editing Services

At this time, UnderCurrents only accepts submissions written in English (or with an accompanying English translation). 

We do not provide English language editing services or recommendations to such services. If authors are affiliated with a post-secondary institution, we recommend consulting the writing centre there for assistance.

Author Biographies

Authors are encouraged to add their ORCiD ids and brief contributor biographies (max 100 words), which will appear online if the submission is accepted. To do so, in Step 3 (Enter Metadata) of the submission process, click the arrow next to the author name then click “edit.”

Coverage Information

In Step 3 (Enter Metadata) of the submission process, if applicable, authors are encouraged to indicate their work's spatial location (a place name or geographic coordinates), temporal period (a period label, date, or date range), and/or jurisdiction (such as a named administrative entity).

Permissions

UnderCurrents follows the Berne Convention of Literary and Artistic Works, which affords copyright protection to authors for at least their lifetime plus 70 years. Such works include, but are not limited to: figures and tables from academic publications as well as illustrations, photographs, images, audio, video, paintings, and other artistic representations. 

By submitting to UnderCurrents, authors confirm that they have the rights for all of the work contained in submissions and that copyright permissions are obtained for any works not owned by authors, including settling any fees associated with obtaining such permissions. Authors must supply granted permissions with their submissions. In accordance with academic practice, please ensure it is also stated, where appropriate, that authors have obtained permission to reproduce work not owned by themselves. 

The following email provides an example for requesting permission to use copyrighted works and can be amended as necessary:

Dear [copyright holder's name],

I would like to contribute an article to UnderCurrents, vol. #. [give a brief description of your contribution]

I am writing for permission to use the following: [title of the artwork and other reference info. You should also explain how the artwork is used in your contribution.]

I hope that you will grant me non-exclusive rights to use your material in my contribution, which accepted to UnderCurrents, will be made available in both print and electronic formats. I will of course include the form of acknowledgement/credit that you request.

I would be very grateful if you would reply at your convenience. With many thanks for your assistance. 

Yours sincerely,
[your name]

Specialist Terminology

UnderCurrents is an academic journal aimed to be accessible to a wide academic audience. Authors are free to use specialist language as appropriate, but please ensure that discipline-specific terminology is clearly defined and contextualized.

Formatting and Reference Style

UnderCurrents follows the 7th edition of the American Psychological Association Publication Manual (APA Style). This includes the rules for section order, font, page header, line spacing, margins, headings, grammar, punctuation, capitalization, number usage, references, and so on. Please read the APA Style Guide in full and follow the entire guide. We make some additions to APA Style: (i) use Canadian spelling (e.g., colour not color, theatre not theater), (ii) enable line numbers to facilitate the peer review process, (iii) do not use endnotes and avoid footnotes wherever possible, and (iv) do not include identifying information on the title page or anywhere in the text. We recommend that authors use this Word template to help submissions conform to APA Style.

Anonymization of Files

As we use a double-anonymous peer review process, authors must make every effort to prevent their identities from being disclosed. Please ensure:

• Author names and professional affiliations are removed from the text and replaced with “Author” and year of reference, “university blinded,” and so on as applicable. 
• Citations to work(s) by the author(s) do not appear in the reference list. 
• From Open Journal Systems: “The authors of the document have removed personal information from the file properties by taking the following steps:
  • Microsoft Word for Windows:
    • Go to File
    • Select Info
    • Click on Check for Issues
    • Click on Inspect Document
    • In the Document Inspector dialog box, select the check boxes to choose the type of hidden content that you want inspected.
    • Click Remove All
    • Click Close
    • Save the document
  • Microsoft Word for MacOS:
    • Go to Tools
    • Click Protect Document
    • Select Remove personal information for this file on save
    • Click OK and save the file”

File Naming Convention

To enable easy navigation of files, please use the following naming convention: 
                 submission_title_file
        e.g., undercurrents_article_manuscript
                 undercurrents_article_statements

Abstract

Each submission must have an abstract (max 150 words). The abstract should summarize the submission and its significance in a manner that is accessible to a wide audience. Minimize the use of abbreviations and do not cite references, tables, or figures in the abstract.

Keywords

Each submission must be accompanied by 3-5 keywords.

Text

All text (poems, creative texts, scholarly essays, etc.) should be in .doc or .docx format. Note that no identifying information can appear in the text to ensure a double-anonymous peer review process.

Tables

All tables should be in .doc or .docx format and embedded in the manuscript file. Please follow APA Style in the preparation of tables. Kindly ensure that each table is mentioned in the text in numerical order. For accessibility reasons, all tables need to be formatted as text using table layouts. Do not submit images of tables.

Figures and Other Illustrations

Figures and other illustrations must be at least 300 dpi and embedded in the manuscript file. Please follow APA Style in the preparation of figures and illustrations. Kindly ensure that each figure and/or illustration is mentioned in the text in numerical order. For accessibility reasons, authors are requested to provide alt text descriptions of any images (this can be done directly in Word).

Authors may be asked to submit original images if their submission is accepted for publication.

Supplementary Material

Supplementary material is data or other files that are not of primary importance to the main text or that cannot be included in the article because they do not fit the format. This includes, but is not limited to: data sheets, presentations, tables, figures, audio, video. Such materials can be uploaded during the submission process and will be displayed online alongside the publication. Please follow APA Style in the preparation of the supplementary material. Kindly ensure that supplementary material is mentioned in the text in numerical order.

Supplementary material is NOT copyedited or typeset, so please ensure that all information is correct (grammar, spelling, etc.) and that there are no tracked changes, highlights, or line numbers in the file. Captions should also be included in the supplementary material as applicable. 

Artist Statement

For artistic submissions, authors are encouraged to provide an artist statement (maximum 500 words) that describes their work and motivations.

Acknowledgements

Individuals who do not meet the criteria for authorship should be listed in the acknowledgements (in a section after the references). We do not require authors to obtain written approval by individuals named in the acknowledgements. 

Funding Statement

Authors must properly acknowledge any funding which supported their submission. Please include a funding statement with the submission (in a section after the references) or, if the work was unfunded, state: This research received no funding from any funding agency in any sector. 

Conflicts of Interest

Authors must declare any conflicts of interest that may affect or that may be perceived to affect their work. This includes any personal, financial, professional affiliations or relationships. Please include a conflict of interest statement with the submission (in a section after the references) or, if there are no conflicts, state: The research was conducted in the absence of any conflicts of interest.

Research Ethics Statement

For submissions based on empirical work with humans and/or animals, authors must include a research ethics statement (in a section after the references). If the work was exempt from research ethics approval or consent procedures, then the authors must state the reasons. Examples of research ethics statements are: 

This animal study was reviewed and approved by [insert full name of Research Ethics Board (REB)]. 

This animal study was reviewed and approved by [insert full name of REB]. Written informed consent was provided by the owners of the animals who participated in this study.

This human study was reviewed and approved by [insert full name of REB]. All participants provided written informed consent to participate in the study. 

Do not identify participants in the submission unless it is absolutely necessary and participants have provided written approval to do so. 

Data Availability Statement

For submissions based on empirical work, authors must state whether and how the data will be made available (in a section after the references). Authors are encouraged to deposit their research data in a public repository such as Open Science Framework. Examples of data availability statements are:

The original data used in the study is available in a public repository and can be found here: [insert link]. 

This study utilized existing datasets that are publicly available. This data can be found here: [insert link].

All relevant data used in the study is presented in the article/supplementary material. 

Information on the publicly available datasets can be found in the article. 

The data is not readily available because [explain why]. Please contact the authors for more information. 

Please contact the authors to obtain the data used in the study. 

Book Review Guidelines

Authors may submit a review of any book published within the last two years that aligns with the journal’s scope (and fits the theme, if submitting to a themed volume). Book reviews should be no longer than 1,500 words and include:

• A brief summary of the book
• An in-depth review of the central arguments and themes of the book
• A discussion of implications for critical environmental studies and related fields, including who may benefit from reading the book reviewed

Kindly reference page or line numbers when quoting directly from the book (but a full in-text citation is otherwise not needed).

Book reviews should critically examine the book’s claims, but we ask authors to also ensure reviews are kind, generous, and collegial. See the following blog posts on reading with reciprocity instead of reading extractively: https://civiclaboratory.nl/2021/01/03/collabrary-a-methodological-experiment-for-reading-with-reciprocity/ and https://theediths.files.wordpress.com/2021/12/reading-with-reciprocity-december-2021-1.pdf 

Further Information

Please contact the UnderCurrents team at currents@yorku.ca with any questions.