The biannual, bilingual, and multidisciplinary journal Biens symboliques / Symbolic Goods has a permanent call for thematic issues, as well as a permanent call for articles (for publication in a Miscellany issue or in one of the journal’s Sections). This page outlines the process for submitting a proposal for a thematic issue. A thematic issue can either be the result of a workshop, seminar, or conference, or it can be put together specifically for the purpose of this publication, with either invited contributors or based on a call for papers. If you wish to issue a call for papers, please contact us (symbolicgoods@gmail.com) so we can help you with this process.

Contents of proposals for thematic issues

Proposals for thematic issues must include the following:

– A short presentation of the coordinators of the issue including, as a minimum, their contact details, disciplines, and institutional affiliations. (Obligatory).

– A general statement of intent, which presents the perspective of the issue and its value in terms of the journal’s editorial scope. The statement should run to 10,000 characters (including spaces) and should include a state of the art on the chosen subject or theme. (Obligatory).

– An indicative bibliography, either general or per article. (Obligatory).

– A presentation of the intended articles, with their titles and the names, disciplines, and institutional affiliations of their authors, as well as a provisional abstract. We recommend that issue proposals include a minimum of five articles. In addition to the contributions making up the core of the issue, it is possible also to include one or two texts intended for one of our Sections. The journal usually publishes articles of between 40,000 and 60,000 characters (including spaces, see style guide for authors), with a limit of 450,000 characters (including spaces) for a full thematic issue (excluding translations). (Obligatory).

– The provisional date by which contributions will be received. (Obligatory)

– If the authors have already written the first versions of their articles, these can be included with the thematic issue proposal. (Optional)

– Potential sources of funding for the French-English translations. (Optional)

All proposals should be submitted by email to the editorial board of Biens symboliques / Symbolic Goods: symbolicgoods@gmail.com.

Selection process for thematic issues

Once received, issue proposals are read attentively by all members of the editorial board. Biens symboliques / Symbolic Goods encourages the submission of issues compiled in an interdisciplinary spirit, when this is appropriate for the topic at hand. If the issue proposal is complete, a response will be given within approximately two months. If necessary, the board may request that the proposal be developed further.

Acceptance of the general proposal does not mean that each article will ultimately be published. If the issue proposal is accepted, each article will then go through a selection process, i.e. a double-blind internal and external peer review. Once we have received the first versions of the articles, we will be able to give you an indication of the possible publication timeframe.

The role of issue coordinators

Coordinators of thematic issues undertake to work with the authors throughout the process. They read the initial versions of the articles and take the authors through a first round of feedback and revisions before the first version is submitted to the journal. Before submission of these first versions, we ask that coordinators pass on the journal’s style guide to the authors. They can also help the authors revise their papers following peer review. Coordinators are responsible for ensuring that deadlines are met at each stage.

Throughout the process, from the submission of the issue proposal to the publication of the issue, the coordinators remain in contact with the editorial board, and specifically with the person on the editorial board who has been appointed to handle the issue.

The coordinators (or one of the coordinators) also write the introduction to the issue, which should run to between 30,000 and 60,000 characters (including spaces). The first version of the introduction must be sent, at the very latest, along with the second version of the articles composing the issue. The introduction should include the state of the art on the topic. Building out from that, the perspective chosen should be argued and problematized, and the guiding thread linking together all the different contributions – which should be presented one after the other – must be made clear.

Finally, coordinators are encouraged to participate in disseminating issues when they are published in order to ensure they receive as much exposure as possible.

(translated from French by Lucy Garnier; last updated in June 2023)