AFRICA

Scope & Guideline

Fostering Scholarly Dialogue on Africa's Future

Introduction

Delve into the academic richness of AFRICA with our guidelines, detailing its aims and scope. Our resource identifies emerging and trending topics paving the way for new academic progress. We also provide insights into declining or waning topics, helping you stay informed about changing research landscapes. Evaluate highly cited topics and recent publications within these guidelines to align your work with influential scholarly trends.
LanguageEnglish
ISSN0001-9720
PublisherCAMBRIDGE UNIV PRESS
Support Open AccessNo
CountryUnited Kingdom
TypeJournal
Convergefrom 1928 to 1940, from 1943 to 2024
AbbreviationAFRICA / Africa
Frequency5 issues/year
Time To First Decision-
Time To Acceptance-
Acceptance Rate-
Home Page-
AddressEDINBURGH BLDG, SHAFTESBURY RD, CB2 8RU CAMBRIDGE, ENGLAND

Aims and Scopes

The journal 'AFRICA' serves as a multidisciplinary platform that engages with a wide array of issues pertinent to the African continent. Its primary aims revolve around fostering critical discourse on historical, social, political, and economic dynamics, as well as exploring contemporary challenges faced by African societies. The journal emphasizes diverse methodologies, including ethnography, historical analysis, and cultural studies, to provide rich insights into the complexities of African experiences.
  1. Interdisciplinary Research on African Societies:
    The journal encourages contributions that span multiple disciplines, including anthropology, sociology, history, and political science, to provide comprehensive analyses of African contexts.
  2. Focus on Postcolonial Studies:
    A significant portion of the journal's content engages with themes of colonial legacies, decolonization processes, and contemporary implications of historical injustices in Africa.
  3. Exploration of Gender and Identity:
    The journal features research that critically examines gender roles, identities, and struggles within various African contexts, highlighting the intersectionality of race, class, and sexuality.
  4. Economic and Political Dynamics:
    The journal addresses pressing economic and political issues, including governance, development policies, and the impact of globalization on African nations.
  5. Cultural Expressions and Practices:
    There is a consistent focus on the cultural dimensions of African life, including literature, music, and oral traditions, as well as their roles in shaping societal values and identities.
  6. Urban Studies and Migration:
    The journal explores urbanization trends, migration patterns, and their social implications, particularly in relation to informal economies and urban livelihoods.
The journal 'AFRICA' has been responsive to contemporary issues and emerging trends in research, reflecting the evolving landscape of African studies. Recent publications highlight several themes that are gaining traction and significance.
  1. Digital Media and Technology Studies:
    There is a growing interest in how digital media and technology shape social interactions, identities, and cultural expressions in Africa, reflecting global digital trends.
  2. Environmental Issues and Climate Change:
    Research focusing on environmental challenges, climate change impacts, and local adaptation strategies is becoming increasingly prevalent, highlighting the urgency of these issues for African societies.
  3. Migration and Transnationalism:
    The exploration of migration patterns, both internal and transnational, is on the rise, emphasizing the complex narratives surrounding mobility, identity, and belonging.
  4. Health and Disability Studies:
    Emerging discussions around health, disability rights, and access to healthcare are becoming more prominent, reflecting a broader concern for social justice and equity in health.
  5. Urbanization and Informality:
    The journal is increasingly publishing research that examines urbanization processes, the informal economy, and the lived experiences of urban dwellers, particularly in rapidly growing cities.
  6. Politics of Identity and Belonging:
    Themes exploring identity politics, belonging, and the implications of race, ethnicity, and nationalism are gaining momentum, reflecting contemporary social dynamics in various African contexts.

Declining or Waning

While 'AFRICA' continues to thrive in many areas, certain themes have shown signs of declining prominence in recent publications. This may reflect shifting research interests or broader global trends that are impacting academic discourse.
  1. Traditional Histories and Colonial Narratives:
    There appears to be a waning focus on purely traditional historical accounts of colonialism, as newer research trends favor interdisciplinary approaches that integrate contemporary societal issues.
  2. Simplistic Economic Analyses:
    The journal has moved away from overly simplistic economic frameworks that do not account for the complexities of informal economies and local agency in African contexts.
  3. Homogenized Representations of African Experiences:
    There is a diminishing trend towards generalizing African experiences under singular narratives, as the journal increasingly emphasizes the diversity and specificity of local contexts.
  4. Static Gender Roles in Analysis:
    Research that portrays gender roles in a static manner without considering evolving dynamics and intersectionality is becoming less prevalent, as scholars push for more nuanced discussions.
  5. Historical Exclusivity in Studies:
    Themes that focus exclusively on historical events without linking them to contemporary issues or implications are being overshadowed by research that demonstrates the relevance of history to current challenges.

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