The Journal of African Cultural Studiespublishes leading scholarship on African culture from inside and outside Africa, with a special commitment to Africa-based authors and to African languages. The journal focuses on dimensions of African culture, performance arts, visual arts, music, cinema, the role of the media, the relationship between culture and power, as well as issues within such fields as popular culture in Africa, sociolinguistic topics of cultural interest, and culture and gender. We welcome in particular articles that show evidence of understanding life on the ground, and that demonstrate local knowledge and linguistic competence. We do not publish articles that offer mostly textual analyses of cultural products such as novels, films and cultural festivals, nor articles that are mostly historical or those based primarily on secondary (such as digital and library) sources. As a leading journal in African humanities scholarship, we favour single-authored submissions. For further details, please contact the editor.
The journal has evolved from the journal African Languages and Cultures, founded in 1988 in the Department of the Languages and Cultures of Africa at the School of Oriental and African Studies, London. From 2019, it is published in association with the International African Institute, London.
Journalof African Cultural Studies publishes original research articles. The journal also publishes an occasional Contemporary Conversations section, in which authors respond to current issues. The section has included reviews, interviews and invited response or position papers. We welcome proposals for future Contemporary Conversations themes.
Peer Review Statement
All research articles in this journal have undergone rigorous peer review, with initial editor screening and anonymized double anonymous refereeing.
Journal metrics
Usage
58K annual downloads/views
Citation metrics
0.9 (2023) Impact Factor
Q2 Impact Factor Best Quartile
0.9 (2023) 5 year IF
1.7 (2023) CiteScore (Scopus)
Q1 CiteScore Best Quartile
0.725 (2023) SNIP
0.405 (2023) SJR
Speed/acceptance
13 days avg. from submission to first
decision
97 days avg. from acceptance to online
publication
18% acceptance rate
Understanding and using journal metrics
Journal metrics can be a useful tool for readers, as well as for authors
who are deciding where to submit their next manuscript for publication.
However, any one metric only tells a part of the story of a journal’s
quality and impact. Each metric has its limitations which means that it
should never be considered in isolation, and metrics should be used to
support and not replace qualitative review.
We strongly recommend that you always use a number of metrics, alongside
other qualitative factors such as a journal’s aims & scope, its
readership, and a review of past content published in the journal. In
addition, a single article should always be assessed on its own merits and
never based on the metrics of the journal it was published in.
Usage and acceptance rate data above are for the last full calendar year
and are updated annually in February. Speed data is updated every six
months, based on the prior six months. Citation metrics are updated
annually mid-year. Please note that some journals do not display all of
the following metrics
(find out why).
Usage:
the total number of times articles in the journal were viewed by users
of Taylor & Francis Online in the previous calendar year, rounded to the
nearest thousand.
Citation Metrics
Impact Factor*:
the average number of citations received by articles published in the
journal within a two-year window. Only journals in the Clarivate Science
Citation Index Expanded (SCIE), Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI),
Arts and Humanities Citation Index (AHCI) and the Emerging Sources
Citation Index (ESCI) have an Impact Factor.
Impact Factor Best Quartile*:
the journal’s highest subject category ranking in the Journal Citation
Reports. Q1 = 25% of journals with the highest Impact Factors.
5 Year Impact Factor*:
the average number of citations received by articles in the journal
within a five-year window.
CiteScore (Scopus)†:
the average number of citations received by articles in the journal over
a four-year period.
CiteScore Best Quartile†:
the journal’s highest CiteScore ranking in a Scopus subject category. Q1
= 25% of journals with the highest CiteScores.
SNIP
(Source Normalized Impact per Paper):
the number of citations per paper in the journal, divided by citation
potential in the field.
SJR
(Scimago Journal Rank):
Average number of (weighted) citations in one year, divided by the
number of articles published in the journal in the previous three years.
Speed/acceptance
From submission to first decision:
the average (median) number of days for a manuscript submitted to the
journal to receive a first decision. Based on manuscripts receiving a
first decision in the last six months.
From submission to first post-review decision:
the average (median) number of days for a manuscript submitted to the
journal to receive a first decision if it is sent out for peer review.
Based on manuscripts receiving a post-review first decision in the last
six months.
From acceptance to online publication:
the average (median) number of days from acceptance of a manuscript to
online publication of the Version of Record. Based on articles published
in the last six months.
Acceptance rate:
articles accepted for publication by the journal in the previous
calendar year as percentage of all papers receiving a final decision.
Editorial Board: Moradewun Adejunmobi UC Davis, USA
Abimbola A. Adelakun University of Texas at Austin, USA
Karin Barber London School of Economics and Political Science, UK
Gus Casely-Hayford V&A East, London, UK
Ying Cheng PKU, Beijing, China
Msia Kibona Clark Howard University, USA
Naminata Diabate Cornell University, USA
Dominic Dipio Makerere University, Uganda
Louisa Egbunike Durham University, UK
Rotimi Fasan Osun State University, Nigeria
Chege Githiora Kenyatta University, Nairobi, Kenya
Angela Impey SOAS, University of London, UK
Alessandro Jedlowski FNRS, Belgium
Rebecca Jones University of Birmingham, UK
David Kerr University of Johannesburg, South Africa
Stephanie Kitchen Managing Editor, IAI
Sandra Manuel Eduardo Mondlane University, Mozambique
Carmen McCain SOAS, University of London, UK
Grace A. Musila Wits University, South Africa
Stephanie Newell Yale, USA
Joseph Oduro-Frimpong Ashesi University, Ghana
Elizabeth Olayiwola University of Abuja
Katrien Pype KU Leuven University, Belgium
Connor Ryan Bristol University, UK
Lynn Taylor UK
Solomon Waliaula Maasai Mara University, Kenya
Luise White Professor Emerita, University of Florida, USA
James Yeku University of Kansas, USA
Helen Yitah University of Ghana, Ghana
Abstracting and indexing
Journal of African Cultural Studies is currently noted in:
Abstracts in Anthropology
African Studies Abstracts Online
CAB Abstracts
MLA Directory of Periodicals
MLA International Bibliography
Thomson Reuters Arts & Humanities Citation Index® (A&HCI)
Thomson Reuters Social Sciences Citation Index® (SSCI)
Open access
Journal of African Cultural Studies is a hybrid open access journal that is part of our Open Select publishing program, giving you the option to publish open access. Publishing open access means that your article will be free to access online immediately on publication, increasing the visibility, readership, and impact of your research.
Why choose open access?
Increase the discoverability and readership of your article
Make an impact and reach new readers, not just those with easy access to a research library
Freely share your work with anyone, anywhere
Comply with funding mandates and meet the requirements of your institution, employer or funder
Rigorous peer review for every open access article
Article Publishing Charges (APC)
If you choose to publish open access in this journal you may be asked to pay an Article Publishing Charge (APC). You may be able to publish your article at no cost to yourself or with a reduced APC if your institution or research funder has an open access agreement or membership with Taylor & Francis.
The International African Institute works to promote scholarly understanding of Africa, notably its changing societies, cultures and languages. Founded in 1926 and based in London, it supports a range of seminars and publications including the journals Africa, Africa Bibliography and a range of book series including the International African Library monograph series and the African Arguments series.
Print ISSN:
1369-6815
Online ISSN:
1469-9346
4 issues per year
Currently known as:
Journal of African Cultural Studies
(1998 - current)
Formerly known as
African Languages and Cultures
(1988 - 1997)
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