Skip to main navigation menu Skip to main content Skip to site footer

Puncta

Editorial Policies

 

Focus and Scope

Puncta is an open-access, peer-reviewed journal of philosophy. The critical turn in phenomenology suggests that phenomenology is not merely a descriptive method or practice, but a mode of critique understood as an ongoing process of revealing and interrogating the concrete conditions, institutions, and assumptions that structure lived experience. We invite submissions that engage the critical turn of phenomenology in any dimension: through analyses of social and political phenomena, reflections on the limits and challenges of phenomenological inquiry, or by attending to the history of philosophy, either through its silences or its canonical figures.

Critical phenomenology aims to open up a more focused area of discourse that the works of those such as Maurice Merleau-Ponty, Simone de Beauvoir, Frantz Fanon, Hannah Arendt, and, more recently, Lisa Guenther, Sara Ahmed, Alia Al-Saji, and Mariana Ortega have opened up through their commitments to an engaged phenomenology. We invite scholars to draw both on classical and contemporary phenomenology in order to join the efforts of broadening the scope and import of phenomenological research.

 

Section Policies

Introduction

  • Unchecked Open Submissions
  • Checked Indexed
  • Unchecked Peer Reviewed

Musings

  • Checked Open Submissions
  • Checked Indexed
  • Unchecked Peer Reviewed

Articles

  • Checked Open Submissions
  • Checked Indexed
  • Checked Peer Reviewed

Afterword

  • Checked Open Submissions
  • Checked Indexed
  • Checked Peer Reviewed

Editorials

  • Checked Open Submissions
  • Checked Indexed
  • Checked Peer Reviewed

 

Peer Review Process

Puncta publishes a selection of double-anonymously peer reviewed submissions, invited and editorially reviewed articles and book reviews, guest edited peer reviewed special issues, and editorials. Under our double-anonymous peer review policy, the referees are unknown to the authors and the authors are unknown to the referees. For transparency and in accordance with the COPE guidelines on ethical publishing, all our publications are labeled with the peer review process they underwent: "double-anonymous peer review," "editorial review," "guest edited," or "editorial (not peer reviewed)." In all cases, Puncta's publications are held to the highest scholarly standards and undergo review and revision by multiple Puncta editors. For more information about special issues, see our Guidelines for Special Issues.

When a submission is received, a two-week quality check process begins. One editor is designated as the managing editor for the year and is responsible for assigning submissions anonymously to the other editors based on topic. Non-managing editors then complete the quality check. The managing editor is aware of the identities of the authors and referees and does not participate in the review process or disclose this information. Submissions that do not meet Puncta's quality standards or are not germane to the journal receive a desk rejection.

Following the quality check, external experts are contacted and requested to serve as peer reviewers with a deadline of 4 weeks. Authors receive the results of the reviews as soon as both reviewers have completed them. Members of Puncta's editorial board may occasionally serve as peer reviewers.

Authors whose submissions are accepted to Puncta will be paired with an editor for revisions. Authors whose submissions are rejected may be encouraged to revise and resubmit.

 

Publication Frequency

Puncta is currently accepting submissions at any time. Accepted manuscripts will be published on a rolling basis and made accessible as soon as editorial review is complete. General issues of Puncta will open and close with each year and include all articles published within that year, exclusive of articles published in any special issues or separate themed issues. For example, Volume 3, Issue 1 of Puncta included all submissions published during 2020, with the exception of those published as part of Volume 3, Issue 2, "Critically sick: New phenomenologies of illness, madness, and disability."

Previous issues were published annually. The inaugural issue of Puncta was published in June 2018 and the second was published in October 2019.

To submit an original manuscript for consideration and to view author guidelines, please go to submissions.

 

Open Access Policy

We at Puncta are committed to the principles of open access: freely accessible, high quality scholarship. We do not restrict access to our publications, do not have paid subscribers, and do not charge our authors to publish their articles. All of our funding comes from grants and other stipends to ensure the integrity of the journal.

 

Archiving

All articles published by Puncta are securely and permanently preserved by Portico. In the event of a "trigger event," such as the discontinuation of the journal, the loss of back issues, or catastrophic and sustained host or server failure, all articles will remain accessible. More information about Portico may be found on their website.

 

Editorial Board

  • Alia Al-Saji, McGill University
  • Debra Bergoffen, George Mason University Emerita
  • Helen Fielding, Western University
  • Kathryn Sophia Belle, Penn State University -
  • Lewis Gordon, University of Connecticut
  • Lisa Guenther, Queen’s University
  • Bonnie Mann, University of Oregon
  • Anne O'Byrne, Stony Brook University
  • Johanna Oksala, Loyola University
  • Mariana Ortega, Penn State University
  • Gayle Salamon, Princeton University
  • Beata Stawarska, University of Oregon
  • Ted Toadvine, Penn State University
  • Alejandro Vallega, University of Oregon
  • Gail Weiss, George Washington University
 

Conflicts of Interest

A conflict of interest refers to a set of conditions in which a professional judgment concerning a primary interest is unduly influenced by secondary influences (ex: external sources of funding; personal relationships).

Authors are asked to reveal any potential conflicts of interest to the editors at the time of submission as part of the pre-submission checklist. Potential conflicts of interest include any financial resources you received from a third-party (not the primary institution that pays your salary) to enable you to complete the work. Other relationships or activities that give the appearance of potentially influencing the work should also be disclosed. These may include: government agencies, commercial sponsors, grants or personal fees.

To facilitate the peer review process, the managing editor is in charge of sending submissions to referees who have expertise in the article’s research area. In order to minimize bias and avoid any obvious conflicts of interest, the managing editor is privy to the author’s name and institutional affiliation.

 

Guidelines for Special Issues

The editors of Puncta are glad to consider proposals for special issues pertaining to critical phenomenology and organized by guest editors. Guest editors are expected to design a call for papers, arrange double-anonymous peer reviews for submissions, edit and fact-check submitted articles, and produce an introduction to the special issue. The editors of Puncta will be responsible for typesetting, final copyediting, publishing the complete special issue online, and ensuring that all articles published adhere to our standards of quality.

When submitting a proposal, please include the following in an email to punctajournal@gmail.com:

  • The name(s), affiliation(s), and CV(s) of the guest editor(s).
  • A 1000-1500 word narrative that describes and contextualizes the proposed issue, explains its purpose and value for scholarship, and suggests possible topics and themes for included articles.
  • A 500-1000 word draft call for papers, separate from the above narrative.
  • A timeline for submission of papers, completion of peer reviews, and completion of editing.
  • A list of potential contributors and peer reviewers working on this subject.
  • A list of proposed ways or places to distribute the call for papers.
  • Short bios of the guest editors and a short account of the guest editors’ qualifications to edit a special issue for Puncta (500-1000 words).

Accepted proposals will be expected to adhere to our publication standards and our standards of peer review as found on this website. Any questions about these standards or other queries should be directed to punctajournal@gmail.com.

The editors of Puncta retain the right to refer individual papers for additional peer review and to decline to publish papers that are not recommended by alternate reviewers. All articles published by Puncta are licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY) 4.0.

 

Plagiarism Policy

Puncta subscribes to the principles of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). All authors must abide by the standards outlined in the submission guidelines. Please note the need to avoid duplicate submissions, plagiarism and self-plagiarism. For more information on plagiarism, please read the Best Practice Guidelines on Publishing Ethics. All Puncta publications are expected to be original and all excerpts from an author's previous work must be cited. The journal may use plagiarism detection software to screen submissions. If plagiarism is identified, the COPE guidelines on plagiarism will be followed.

 

Rolling Submissions

Puncta is accepting submissions on a rolling basis. This means that submissions may be made any point. To submit an original manuscript for consideration and to view author guidelines, please go to submissions.