Mission Statement
The Columbia Journal of Asia (CJA) is an open-access platform for a broad range of creative and academic pieces on Asia, the Asian diaspora, and comparative studies broadly related to Asia, written by undergraduates in the U.S. and abroad. It addresses an urgent need for more representation and understanding of Asian narratives, not in isolation, but as an integral part of the study of humanities and social sciences in academic and artistic circles.
Aim
CJA creates a space for Asian narratives, languages, and societies in dominant intellectual and creative dialogues. In doing so, we empower our authors and readers to challenge the erasure, marginalization, and diminutization of Asian scholarship that have long dictated the Western tradition, underpinned by colonial histories.
Scope
Our journal publishes disciplinary, multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary scholarship, namely original research papers of either 1,500-4,000 words or 4,000 words or longer, and creative works, including poetry, prose, and original translations of under 2,000 words. Scholarly works can be from a range of disciplines in the social sciences and humanities: history, literature, political science, sociology, anthropology, and the arts. Submissions must fundamentally relate to the study of Asia and/or the Asian diaspora but are also invited and encouraged to be situated in global or transnational contexts.
Language Policy
CJA publishes works that are bilingual and multilingual, but must have an English component. We also accept original translations of works from Asian languages into English; authors should be aware that we consult reviewers proficient in the given language during the editorial process for such submissions. In research papers, all terms from other languages should be transliterated into English pursuant to the ALA-LC Romanization guidelines. In creative works (including translations), authors may choose to include non-English terms in their original script(s), but any English transliterations should still follow the above guidelines.
Diversity Policy
CJA is committed to increasing the diversity of voices that is represented in academic and creative spaces. This diversity includes differences in race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity, country of origin, religious or spiritual beliefs, ability, and socioeconomic status. Our double-blind peer review coupled with the mediating role of our editorial board represents CJA’s commitment to a fair and respectful review process for all submissions. It is also CJA’s mission to represent a broad range of voices on issues related to Asia and the Asian diaspora, including international submissions. As such, submissions will not be penalized for using forms of English used in countries outside of the United States, such as British English.
Ethics Policy
CJA upholds a zero-tolerance policy for plagiarism and the use of unauthorized materials by prospective authors. Any concerns should be directly addressed to the Editors-in-Chief of CJA. In the interest of a fair deliberation process, CJA requires all members of its editorial board and prospective authors to report conflicts of interest.
Peer Review Policy
CJA uses a double-blind peer review process for research papers. Peer reviewers are graduate students recruited from a range of Columbia University and Barnard College departments, including History, Middle Eastern, South Asian, and African Studies (MESAAS), East Asian Languages and Cultures (EALAC), and Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies. The CJA Editorial Board mediates between peer reviewers and authors during the editorial process, whose identities are not revealed to one another.
CJA does not use peer review for creative submissions, which, if accepted, are directly published in the journal, pending minor edits suggested by the CJA Editorial Board. For creative works that are translations of Asian languages, CJA will provisionally share these submissions with scholars proficient in the original languages to verify the authenticity of the translation.
Open Access Policy
CJA is an open access journal, which means that all content is freely available without charge to the user or his/her institution. Users are allowed to read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, or link to the full texts of the articles in this journal without asking prior permission from the publisher or the author. Authors retain their copyright and agree to license their articles with a CC BY 4.0 license (for research papers) or a CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 license (for creative works). You can read more about Creative Commons licenses at creativecommons.org.
CJA is a no-fee journal. Authors are not charged for the publication of their articles.
Archiving Policy
CJA is archived in Columbia University’s Academic Commons. Academic Commons is Columbia University’s institutional repository, offering long-term public access to research shared by the Columbia community. A program of the Columbia University Libraries, Academic Commons provides secure, replicated storage for files in multiple formats. Academic Commons assigns a DOI and accurate metadata to each work to enhance discoverability.