Submissions

Moja is an Africana Studies journal publishing interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary work exploring the contours of Africa and the African Diaspora. We provide spaces to explore subjects, stories and experiences from multiple systems of knowledge and knowing. We are not only interested in the traditional ways of understanding “disciplinary views,” but creating spaces for varied views.

Moja is a Swahili word meaning one. Moja was chosen as the name of our Interdisciplinary Africana Studies journal in recognition of the collective heritage—and cultural differences— of Africans and people of African descent. Moja is the intellectual unification of Africana people who though separated by geopolitical maps, continue to assert their cultural traditions and retrieve their repressed histories through a decolonizing process. Moja, One! Unity is Strength.

Interested authors should submit manuscripts using the online submission on this page. We do not consider submissions that are under review elsewhere. Submissions are peer-reviewed by members of our Editorial Board, as well as other affiliated scholars. All submissions must include a cover letter that includes the author’s full mailing address, email address, and telephone number, and professional or academic affiliation. The cover letter should indicate that the submission contains original content, has not previously been published, and is not under review by another publication. Authors are responsible for securing permission to use copyrighted tables or materials from a copyrighted work in excess of 500 words. Authors must contact original authors or copyright holders to request the use of such material in their articles. Authors must also submit a three to five sentence bio, an abstract of their submission of not more than 100 words, and a brief list of key words or significant concepts in the article. Unsolicited submissions are normally reviewed and reported back within two to three months.

Content

Originality: Submissions should make an original contribution to the literature.

Themes: Each Moja issue is generally organized around a concept or theme, e.g.: a chronological period, a geographical region, a political event. However, Moja always welcomes and will publish submissions on any topic that falls within the parameters of the journal’s interest.

Formats

Written Submissions

Length: Articles published in Moja generally are a minimum of 2,500 words in length, but not longer than 8,500 words, excluding endnotes and scholarly references.

APA: All articles should conform to the American Psychological Association (APA) style. 

Clarity: Moja favors clearly written articles with a coherent structure and thesis. Pieces with excessive academic jargon, obtuse language and an excessive reliance on the passive voice will be promptly returned to their authors.

Critical: Moja aspires to produce scholarship representing  critical black studies. Moja is an intellectual intervention that seeks to inform and transform black life and history.

Alternate modalities

(Artwork, video, and other electronic forms of communication – all submissions must contain attachments listed in the Submissions paragraph.):

Images, videos, and audio recordings: To submit Web-ready images, sounds, or video clips, you may include a link in your online submission. You may also prepare your document and all accompanying media files on your own local web server or file hosting service (e.g. Dropbox, iCloud, Google Drive) and supply us with the URL to your site via your email submission.