Style Guide

SUBMISSION INFORMATION FOR CONTRIBUTORS

The editors welcome contributions for publication, both articles of general interest and ones related to theme issues. After registering a user account or logging into the system, authors should submit articles as Microsoft Word or Open Office files through the online submission system at http://ojs.berghahnjournals.com/index.php/theoria. Any queries can be directed to the Managing Editor at theoriasa@gmail.com.

Articles should be 6,000 to 9,000 words, including notes and references. Book reviews should be up to 1,000 words, and review essays must review a minimum of two titles and be 2,000 to 4,000 words. Shorter essays of up to 5500 words can be considered for the ‘New voices” section and will be internally reviewed by the editorial board.

Cover Page

The cover page should provide the title of the article, complete contact information for each author (mailing address, phone number and email), biographical data of approximately 100 words for each author including an ORCID, a total word count, the number of tables and/or figures included and any acknowledgements. Affiliations and email addresses will be posted online for indexing/abstracting purposes.

Formatting

The document must be set at the US letter standard size. The entire document (including notes and references) should be double-spaced with 1-inch (2.5 cm) margins on all sides and no extra spaces between paragraphs. A 12-point standard font such as Times New Roman is required for all text, including headings, notes and references. Any unusual characters or diacritics should be flagged by placing the entire word in red type.

Abstract/Keywords

The article must include an abstract of 150 words and 5 to 8 keywords. The abstract should not duplicate the text verbatim but rather include the research question or puzzle, identify the data and give some indication of the findings. Keywords should be drawn from the content and not duplicate the article title, listed in alphabetical order and separated by commas; only proper nouns should be capitalised.

Copyright/Permissions

Upon acceptance, authors are required to submit copyright agreements and all necessary permission letters for reprinting or modifying copyrighted materials, both textual and graphic. The author is fully responsible for obtaining all permissions and clearing any associated fees to reproduce copyrighted materials.

Research funding

All research funding (often mentioned in the acknowledgments section) must not conflict with our embargo period outlined in the journal copyright transfer agreement. Prior to submission to Berghahn, authors need to establish the requirements of their funding, and if necessary pursue the gold OA option for their article.

Artwork

For optimal reproduction, figures or photos should be submitted as high-resolution JPGs or TIFFs (300 ppi), or as EPS files with all fonts embedded. All images should be at least 4 x 4 inches at the resolution indicated. Tables should be made and submitted in Microsoft Word or rtf. All figures and tables should be in separate files and numbered consecutively; only placement indicators and captions (with source/copyright information) should be included in the articles themselves. For more details, please see our Artwork submission webpage.

 Process for Refereeing and Accepting Articles

Theoria is a refereed journal. Submissions are considered on the understanding that the article or essay is not currently under consideration for publication elsewhere. Articles are sent to at least two scholars with relevant experience and expertise. Referees are asked to advise the editors whether the article should be published and, if so, with what recommended changes. The editors respond to the author with their decision, a list of any changes needed for publication and the anonymous referees' comments, or a summary thereof. Essays are internally reviewed, and authors will be sent feedback and comments for revisions. If necessary, external comment may be sought.

 Publication

Manuscripts that have been accepted for publication but do not conform to the style guide may be returned to the author for amendment. The editors also reserve the right to alter usage to conform to the style guide issued by the publishers. Authors may not supply new materials or request major alterations following the copyediting stage, so please ensure that all text is final upon acceptance. Contributors of research articles will receive one free copy of the relevant issue and may purchase additional copies at a reduced price or purchase offprints.

The journal is available Open Access as of 2021, so authors will retain copyright of their article or essay and will choose a Creative Commons license under which to share their work. There are no page fees charged to authors.

Have other questions about submitting your manuscript? Please refer to Berghahn’s Journal Author FAQs for additional information.

STYLE GUIDE

The Theoria style guide is based on the New Oxford Style Manual and New Hart’s Rules, with some deviations for house preferences. Please note that the journal uses UK punctuation and spelling (including a preference for –ise over –ize endings), following The Oxford English Dictionary. Exceptions are spellings within direct quotations and in sources included in the reference list.

Citation System

Theoria follows the in-text author-date system, with full documentation in the reference list. Any other notes should be endnotes (using Word’s automatic endnote function) and kept short and to a minimum. No footnotes, please.

Author-Date Examples

            (Pickett and White 1985; Smith 1987)

            Jones’s research (1977, 1979a, 1979b)

            (Kant n.d.; McGinnis forthcoming)

            Single Author with Multiple Sources: (Smith 1993: 63; 1998: 124–169)

            Three or More Authors: (Jones et al. 2001)

            Authors with Same Last Name: (D. Smith 1981; G. Smith 1999)

The first mention of an author in the main body text (not in-text citations) should include the first and last name. Multiple sources in a parenthetical note should be listed alphabetically.

Please note that translations of all non-English quotations and primary-source titles are required for indexing/abstracting purposes (see the translated title examples provided below).

Reference List Examples

Book with one author/editor

Wagner, R. G. (1975) 1981. The Invention of Culture. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

Book with multiple authors/editors

Blakeley, G. and Y. Bryson (eds). 2002. Contemporary Political Concepts: A Critical Introduction. London: Pluto.

Chapter or other part of a book

Hudson, P. A. 1988. ‘Images of the Future and Strategies in the Present: The Freedom Charter and the South African Left’. In P. Frankel, N. Pines and M. Swilling (eds), State, Resistance and Change in South Africa. Johannesburg: Southern Book Publishers, 259–277.

Journal article (always include the doi if available)

Schulzke, M. and A. Carroll. 2011. ‘Judicial Review in Context: A Response to Counter-majoritarian and Epistemic Critiques’, Theoria 58 (127): 1–23. doi: 10.3167/th.2011.5812702.

Article in a newspaper or magazine

Boyle, B. 2011. ‘We’re Thinking Like Racists’, The Times (Johannesburg), 17 March.

Slides and films

Mihalyi, L. J. 1977. Landscapes of Zambia, Central Africa. Santa Barbara, CA: Visual Education. Slides.

An Incident in Tiananmen Square. 1990. 16 mm, 25 min. San Francisco: Gate of Heaven Films.

Translations

Bourdieu, P. 1977. Outline of a Theory of Practice. Trans. R. Nice. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Translated title

Baudrillard, J. 1967. Pour une critique de l’économie politique du signe [For a critique of the politics economy of the sign]. Paris: Gallimard.

Bernet, M. 2009. A Nation Like Any Nation: Toward the Establishment of an Israeli Republic. [In Hebrew.] Jerusalem: Carmel.


Paper presented at a meeting or conference

Luthuli, A. 1956. ‘Some Aspects of the Apartheid Union Land Laws and Policy as Affecting Africans’. Paper presented at the Group Areas Act Convened by the Natal Indian Congress conference, Durban, 5–6 May.

Archive materials

Archive materials may be cited according to the particular kind of archival material being cited. Note that public documents might be cited differently than private documents in archives.

Dedyk, Claudia. 1933. Linguistics Memos, Rossiskii Gosudarsvenyi Isoricheskii Arkhiv [RGIA], fond 1129, opis 1, delo 491, 11 February, 74–83, 116–119. Russian State Historical Archives, St. Petersburg.

Egmont Manuscripts. n.d. Phillips Collection. Athens: University of Georgia Library.

Websites and blogs

Access dates are only required when no date of publication or revision can be determined from the source.

Vale, P. and J. Carter. 2008. ‘But Do They Think?’ Mail and Guardian, 2 March. http://mg.co.za/printformat/single/2008-03-02-but-do-they-think.

WHO (World Health Organization). 2000. ‘Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade – Notification – Mexico – Tequila’. http://docsonline.eto.org/TBT/Notif.00/168 (accessed 9 April 2000).

Online video

Rubinstein, R. 2011. ‘Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 2, Op. 18, I Moderato’. YouTube video, uploaded 8 November. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Vv0Sy9FJrc&list=PLDB11C4F39E09047F.

 

BOOK REVIEWS FORMAT

  • Include reviewed book’s reference information before review text on three lines — first line: author(s) name, title; second line: publication information; third line: ISBN + page count.

Slavoj Žižek and Boris Gunjevi´c. God in Pain: Inversions of Apocalypse

New York: Seven Stories Press, 2012.

ISBN 978-1-60980-369-8, 288 pp.

  • Contributor name and affiliation information go at the end of the book review. If you use additional references over and above the book being reviewed, please list these but keep them to a minimum unless you are writing a review essay.

Article Submission Checklist

  • Copyright assignment form is signed and submitted (no later than the final revised article submission). This is now a Creative Commons license and authors retain copyright under our Open Access policy;
  • Cover sheet is included and provides:
    • Title of the article;
    • An abstract of 150 words, is a summary or overview of the entire article, and does not duplicate verbatim sections of the main text;
    • Five to eight keywords that are in alphabetical order and separated by commas (with only proper nouns capitalised);
    • Complete contact information for each author (mailing address, phone number and email);
    • A bio of approximately 100 words for each author (including an ORCID if applicable);
    • Total word count, the number of tables and/or figures included and any acknowledgements.
  • For any Figures, ensure that:
    • Placement indicators and captions (with source/copyright information) have been provided in the main text for all figures and tables;
    • Separate files are provided (clearly named and consecutively numbered) and in the required format with all accompanying permissions.
    • Examples of source/credit lines in captions:

AUTHOR IMAGES

  • Figure 1: A coffee farm near Sasaima, Colombia, 2013. Photo by author.

PUBLIC DOMAIN AND CC BY IMAGES

  • Figure 2.2. James Joyce. Photograph by Alex Ehrenzweig, 1915. Wikimedia Commons, public domain.
  • Figure 4.2. Left: BioShock’s Big Daddy (image 2K Games). Screen capture by author. Right: Cosplay at MCM London Comic Con 2015. Photo by Pete Sheffield, CC BY-SA 2.0.

IMAGES FROM A MUSEUM/GALLERY/ARCHIVE

  • Figure 4. Francios Perrier, Orpheus before Pluto and Persephone, 1647–50. Oil on canvas. Paris, Musée du Louvre. Photo: © RMN-Grand Palais (Musée du Louvre)/Michel Urtado.


Please ensure that:

  • The style guide has been followed;
  • All text, including headings, notes and references, is in a standard 12-point type, such as Times New Roman, and double-spaced with a 1-inch margin on all sides and no extra spaces between paragraphs;
  • UK spelling is used throughout, and a spellcheck has been performed (analyse; organise; favour; behaviour);
  • Different levels of headings are indicated by varying the typeface. Use bold type for an A head (a main text heading). Use bold italic for a B head (a first-level subheading). Use non-bold italic for a C head. Please try to avoid numbering headings, and please note that the journal does not use the heading ‘Introduction’ for the opening section of an essay or article.
  • Superscript note reference numbers and/or asterisks are not placed on article titles, headings, epigraphs or the contributor’s name;
  • Contributions are referred to as articles (not essays or papers);
  • Numbers 0–100 are spelled out, as are large whole numbers (e.g., fourteen hundred), and all number ranges are non-abbreviated;
  • Foreign-language words that are not common in UK usage are italicized on every instance;
  • Single quotation marks are used for all quotations and terms, except for quotes or terms within quotes, and quotations of more than 60 words are indented as extracts with no quotation marks. Note that any quotation marks need to be placed inside of the punctuation, e.g., ‘This is a quotation’.
  • URLs are not located in the main text when used in a bibliographical sense (although names such as Amazon.com are acceptable). Any URLs have been relocated to endnotes or the reference list;
  • If using dois in the reference list, please include these as follows: doi: 10.1080/00107530.1993.10746819. (Not with the full URL);
  • Abbreviations such as e.g., i.e., etc. and et al. are not used in the main text (except in parentheses);
  • There are no page and section breaks within the article. You may include one between the cover page and the main article, but nowhere else;
  • Every author mentioned in the reference list is cited in the main text or notes, and every author cited in the main text and notes is listed in the reference list.