2024 Special Issue Call for proposals now open
The MAT editorial collective is delighted to announce that the 2024 Special Issue call for submissions is now open to receive proposals.
Medicine Anthropology Theory (MAT) is the first English-language fully open-access journal in medical anthropology. With the support of the University of Edinburgh open journal hosting service (Edinburgh Diamond), we publish indexed, cutting-edge, original research that generates new avenues to explore the nexus of medicine, society, and health around the world.
Access and equity are primary commitments of the MAT Editorial Collective. Our journal does not charge any article processing fees to authors, nor does it charge readers or their institutions for accessing our content. MAT is recognised as a leading open-access journal in the discipline by prestigious indexers (e.g., DOAJ) and we are fully committed to being at the forefront of open, inclusive and accessible academic publishing.
We are now welcoming submissions of proposals for the 2024 Special Issue call for edited collections. If a proposal is accepted by the Editorial Collective, guest-editor(s) will be responsible for steering the review and publication processes for their materials, with support from MAT's Editorial Collective, Managing Editor, and copyeditor. In line with MAT’s Ethos Statement, we particularly encourage submissions of proposals that include several contributions from scholars based in the Global South, as well as early career scholars. Proposals that feature contributions that meet these criteria will be prioritised while under review.
Guidelines for submitting your proposal
MAT publishes two kinds of edited collections: Special Sections and Special Issues. You can read more about Special Section submission and review processes, and submit your proposals here on a rolling basis.
Proposals for Special Issues are considered on an annual basis only. The 2024 Special Issue submission will be open until 1 June 2024, and we're open to receiving submissions ahead of that date. A response will be provided by the MAT editorial collective by early July. All manuscripts (exempting the guest editorial) accepted for publication in the upcoming Special Issue will be required to be submitted through the journal’s publication system to start the review process within three months of the acceptance of the collection.
A Special Issue is a curated collection of 8 to 12 contributions with a shared theoretical focus, to be introduced by an invited editorial by the guest editor(s). The proposal ought to include at least four Research Articles and a maximum of six, and at least one proposal for each of the sections in the journal (Position Pieces, Field Notes, Photo Essays, and Review Essays). You can read more about the scope of each of these sections here. Should you have any questions about the remit and scope of our journal sections, please reach out to the journal’s editorial coordinator, Jessica Cooper (jessica.cooper@ed.ac.uk).
Proposals are sent through this form and should include title, guest editors, an overview of the topic and theoretical focus (800–1000 words excluding references), reference list, and abstracts of all contributions (150–200 words).
MAT seeks to foster collaboration. Most of our special issues have had two guest co-editors. If you apply with more than three guest editors on the project, please include, in your application, a statement on how you envision the editorial labour to be divided and how you will address any conflicts of interests and disagreements within the guest editorial collective. For ease communication with the MAT Editorial Collaborative, please indicate which of your guest co-editors will be the corresponding guest editor. MAT aims to publish one to two special issues a year, usually in June and/or December. Find more details on our journal's submission guidelines: http://www.medanthrotheory.org/about/submissions
If you have any questions, please get in touch with our Managing Editor (MATeditors@ed.ac.uk).
Timeline:
- 1 December to 2023 to 1 June 2024 – form available to submit a Special Issue proposal
- Early July 2023 – communication of decision made on selected SI submissions
- Approx. September 2024 – full contributions due to be submitted through the journal’s publication system to go out for peer review