Victorians: A Journal of Culture and Literature

Victorians: A Journal of Culture and Literature welcomes interdisciplinary approaches to Victorian literature and culture and continues to respond to developmental shifts in the discipline of Victorian studies. VCL looks forward to continuing its long history of scholarly excellence and professional integrity.

Please direct any questions to: Kristen Pond at victoriansjournal@baylor.edu

Article types

The journal accepts essays on Victorian culture and literature, including interrogations of present-day scholarly methods and pedagogical practices. Submissions should be original work that has neither been published nor simultaneously submitted for publication elsewhere.

Review Section
Victorians seeks collaborating two-author teams to write single book reviews. Reviews should run up to 1,000 words total, with a 500-word section titled “Scholarly Intervention” and a 500-word section titled “Pedagogical Significance.” Please contact our reviews editor Riya Das at ridas@pvamu.edu with a note of interest or questions.

From the Classroom
This section features pedagogical articles describing and critically reflecting on innovative approaches to teaching Victorian studies in the broad sense. Contributions in this section might explore new approaches to teaching Victorian texts, topics, and courses; outline pedagogical strategies aimed at undisciplining and decolonizing the classroom in Victorian literary studies, history, art history, musicology, and other related fields; model pedagogy utilizing diverse bodies of information such as digital and physical archives, nontraditional texts, and multimodal and technological resources; describe and reflect on activities, unit and course designs, reading lists, and theoretical approaches to teaching Victorian studies; reflect on student responses, learning outcomes, and engagement; provide adaptable materials such as assignment prompts, syllabi, and activity outlines that other instructors may implement or modify; and/or integrate pedagogical theory with practical application in accessible prose.

Roundtable Conversations
This section features clusters of short, collaboratively conceived pieces that bring multiple voices into dialogue around a shared question or topic. Contributions in this section might engage a common question or set of questions from different critical, methodological, or theoretical perspectives; respond directly to one another’s arguments, modeling an ongoing conversation; stage productive disagreement, debate, or tension within the field of Victorian studies; reflect on emerging issues, questions, or shifting directions in the discipline; and/or experiment with collaborative, dialogic, or multi-voiced forms of writing. These roundtable conversations may include a concluding piece by a respondent. Please contact us if you’re interested in putting together and editing a roundtable section, and we will work with you.

Digital Humanities Forum
This section features contributions that engage digital tools, methods, and archives in Victorian studies. Contributions in this section might explore how digital methodologies can generate new insights into Victorian texts and contexts; reflect on the use of digital archives, databases, and collections in Victorian research and teaching; introduce or critically assess digital tools, platforms, or projects relevant to Victorian studies; examine the possibilities and limitations of digital approaches, including questions of access, ethics, and representation; and/or describe collaborative or interdisciplinary digital projects at various stages of development.

From the Field
This section features interviews and short essays that reflect on professional, institutional, and public-facing dimensions of Victorian studies. Contributions in this section might document conversations with scholars, educators, curators, or organizers about their work and experiences in the field; reflect on the development of scholarly communities, organizations, or collaborative initiatives; offer insights into the evolving practices, challenges, and opportunities shaping Victorian studies as a discipline; share knowledge about conferences, publications, exhibitions, public humanities projects, or other field-defining events, spaces, and institutions; explore the intersections between academic work and broader cultural, institutional, or public contexts; and/or reflect on the challenges and transformations shaping higher education and the humanities.

Submission requirements

Manuscript Format

We follow The Chicago Manual of Style (18th edition), Notes and Bibliography, for formatting and documentation. We prefer footnotes and do not permit use of ibid. Further details are available on the Chicago Manual of Style website: https://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/tools_citationguide/citation-guide-1.html

Research essays should run between 7,500 and 9,500 words, inclusive of notes and bibliography, and should use American spelling and punctuation throughout excepting cited materials.

Images

Images should be sent individually, in .tiff or .jpg format, at least 300 dpi at page display size.  The files should be numbered consecutively, and captions should be provided along with callouts (where to place images) in the main text of the manuscript, including a permission line where appropriate. Alt text for accessibility should also be included. Authors are responsible for researching and confirming rights and permissions for images for both print and online format.