Humanity & Society
Humanity & Society, the official journal of the Association for Humanist Sociology, was first
published in 1977 and has been published quarterly since 1978. Humanity & Society is a peer-reviewed Sage journal with abstracts of published articles appearing in Sociological Abstracts. It features “humanist sociology,” which is broadly defined as a sociology that views people not only as products of social forces but also as agents in their lives and the world. We publish activist-oriented, public scholarship that directly applies a social justice lens. We encourage work that engages in how to advance movements and how to participate in our collective, social struggle. Please see “aims and scope” for more detailed information
This journal is a member of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).
Please direct all general inquiries to Editor-in-Chief, Dr. hephzibah v. strmic-pawl and Managing Editor, Heidi Nicholls, at humanityandsocietyjournal@gmail.com
For Pedagogy specific questions, contact Editor Dr. Myron Strong at hspedagogyeditor@gmail.com
For Book and Media Reviews inquiries and submissions, contact Editors Dr. Shaonta’ Allen and Dr. Maretta McDonald at ahsbooksreviews@gmail.com
To learn more about our full editorial board, see: https://www.humanist-sociology.org/editorial-board.html
Our logo was created by Natalia Veras
Humanity & Society (H&S) publishes:
- Activist-oriented, public scholarship that directly applies a social justice lens. Work should engage in how to advance movements and how to participate in our collective, social struggle.
- Sociological work that has interdisciplinary and global perspectives, including but not limited to critical ethnic studies, women & gender studies, queer theory, history, and geography.
- Theoretical orientations that map onto or reflect a humanist agenda such as anti-imperialism, Black feminisms, decoloniality, community and social movements, critical class analyses, critical disability studies, critical race studies, indigenous studies, intersectionality, Marxist humanist theories, postcolonial theories and perspectives, settler colonialism, queer theory, and queer of color critique, and women of color feminisms.
- Methodologies can be varied and critical; novel approaches are welcome.
- Manuscripts that challenge or deviate from traditional paper organization and push the boundaries of sociological styles of writing.
Humanity & Society general paper submissions should be 8,000 - 10,000 words and may include original research, theoretical examinations, & historical analyses.
Other manuscript types include:
- Pedagogy: Manuscripts with innovative teaching approaches, either empirically and/or theoretically, that focus on social justice and social change (approx: 3500-4000 words). See below for more information.
- Book and Media Reviews: Critical essays on books and media such as television shows, films, podcasts, social media content, video and other games, and blogs/vlogs (approx: 900-1000 words). See below for more information
- Dispatches: Our new online blog, which welcomes critical commentaries, essays from activists on the ground, and brief pedagogy or media reviews (approx: 500-1500 words). https://www.humanist-sociology.org/dispatches
H&S is committed to an open, peer review process that encourages dialogue. To that end, authors and reviewers are all non-anonymous to one another. In our view, this open method of reviewing does not diminish the rigor, integrity, and validity of the peer-review process. Rather, we believe it creates a more open and honest dialogue between authors and reviewers.
Scholars who support our mission are also encouraged to register with Manuscript Central as potential reviewers.
Please direct your inquiries and ideas to: hephzibah v. strmic-pawl, Editor-In-Chief, and Heidi Nicholls, Managing Editor, at humanityandsocietyjournal@gmail.com
Humanity & Society Pedagogy Section (3,500-4,000 words):
-
Manuscripts that add to the scholarship by using innovative approaches, either empirically and/or theoretically, and focus on social justice, activism and social change.
-
Particularly looking for pedagogical approaches that stretch the boundaries of methodologies by using nontraditional sources such as comics, blogs, social media, etc to explore social justice, activism and social change.
-
Manuscripts that build pedagogical theory and reflect a humanist agenda such as anti-imperialism, Black feminisms, decoloniality, community and social movements, critical class analyses, critical disability studies, critical race studies, indigenous studies, intersectionality, Marxist humanist theories, postcolonial theories and perspectives, settler colonialism, queer theory, and queer of color critique, and women of color feminisms.
-
Methodologies can be varied and critical as well as creative in the way pedagogy is researched, constructed and imagined.
-
Manuscripts that challenge or deviate from traditional paper organization and push the boundaries of sociological styles of writing.
Humanity & Society Book & Media Reviews (900-1000 words)
Humanity & Society’s editorial board believes that the relationships between scholar, scholarship, and community are mutually constitutive. As the Book & Media Review Editors, we particularly recognize the power of books and other forms of media in this moment and look forward to highlighting critical and social justice-oriented work to demonstrate how sociological scholarship is relevant for understanding and responding to pressing human needs.
Humanity & Society Book and Media Reviews Section publishes:
-
Book Reviews from either academic or public-facing facing presses
- Media reviews including, but not limited to, television shows, films, podcasts, social media content, video and other games, and blogs/vlogs
- Two new forms of Feature Reviews
- “From the Margins,” which highlights a review from an underrepresented scholar and/or a review on a marginalized topic
- “From the Ground,” which highlights a review from an activist, community organizer, or other community member/leader
- Reviews that come from advanced graduate students and junior faculty; scholars with marginalized standpoints are especially welcome.
To inquire about books in need of review or to pitch a book or media review, please email Book & Media Review Editors Shaonta’ Allen and Maretta McDonald, AHSBookReviews@gmail.com
| Heidi Nicholls | John Hopkins University, USA |
| Shaonta’ Allen | Dartmouth College, USA |
| Maretta Darnell McDonald | University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA |
| Myron T. Strong | Community College of Baltimore County, USA |
| Emily McDonald | George Mason University, USA |
| Emma Bailey | Universidad Veracruzana, Mexico |
| Emily Brissette | Bridgewater State University, USA |
| Nnenia Campbell | University of Colorado Boulder, USA |
| Ghassan Moussawi | University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign, USA |
| Antonia Randolph | The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, USA |
| Jason Williams | Montclair University, USA |
| Felicia Arriaga | Baruch College, USA |
| Brittany Battle | Wake Forest Unversity, USA |
| Carson Byrd | University of Michigan-Ann Arbor |
| Kaitland Byrd | University of Michigan, USA |
| David G. Embrick | University of Connecticut, USA |
| Kasey Henricks | University of Tennessee, USA |
| Marie-Claude Jipguep | Howard University, USA |
| Melissa Lavin | State University of New York at Oneonta, USA |
| Wende Marshall | Stadium Stompers, People’s Strike, USA |
| Austin McCoy | West Virginia University, USA |
| Zebulon Miletsky | Stonybrook University, USA |
| Greta Pennell | University of Indianapolis, USA |
| James Pennell | University of Indiana at Indianapolis, USA |
| Watoii R. Rabii | Oakland University, USA |
| Courtney B. Ross | Virginia Tech, USA |
| Joti Sekhon | Winston-Salem State University, USA |
| Saher Selod | Simmons University, USA |
| Marc Settembrino | Southeastern Louisiana University, USA |
| Thomas Piñeros Shields | University of Massachusetts Lowell, USA |
| Katherine Standish | University of Otago, New Zealand |
| Bhoomi Thakore | University of Connecticut, USA |
| Mo Torres | Harvard University, USA |
| Megan Underhill | University of North Carolina Asheville, USA |
| Melissa Weiner | College of the Holy Cross, USA |
| Johnny Williams | Trinity College, USA |
| Rai Wilson | Hamilton County Public Defender, USA |
Manuscript Submissions
The editors cordially invite you to submit your work for possible publication in Humanity & Society. The journal strives to publish strong theoretical and/or empirical contribution to humanist questions and issues that are sociological in nature. Research articles should conform to the latest edition of the American Sociological Association’s Style Guide, and may have a length of 10,000 words or less. Sections in a manuscript should include the following elements (in this order):
(1) Title page
(2) Abstract
(3) Personal Reflexive Statement(s) (Personal Reflexive Statement is required)
(4) Text
(5) Notes, if applicable
(6) References
(7) Tables, if applicable
(8) Figures, if applicable
(9) Appendices, if applicable.
1. Title page. Please include the following: (1) Full article title, (2) Acknowledgments and credits, (3) Each author’s complete name and institutional affiliation(s), (4) Grant numbers and/or funding information, and (5) Corresponding author (name, address, phone/, e-mail).
2. Abstract. 150 to 200 words on a separate page headed by the full article title.
3. Personal Reflexive Statement. The Personal Reflexive Statement provides an account of the author’s perspectives about and personal commitment to the subject matter of the article. We require a personal reflexive statement for every manuscript submission. Include a Personal Reflexive Statement for each author unless a single statement is appropriate. A 150-200 Personal Reflexive Statement(s) should go directly below the abstract. For more information on what a personal reflexive statement is, please see: https://www.humanist-sociology.org/author-guidelines.html
Conflict of interest
Any conflict if interest should be disclosed by a submitting or publishing author. For more information about Sage's conflict of interest policy, click here.
Funding Acknowledgements
All research articles should have a funding acknowledgement statement included in the manuscript in the form of a sentence under a separate heading entitled ‘Funding’ directly after your Acknowledgements and Declaration of Conflicting Interests, if applicable, and prior to any Notes and your References. For more information about Sage's funding acknowlegements policy, click here.
Please be aware of our non-anonymous peer review process.
Humanity and Society is committed to an open, peer review process that encourages dialogue. To that end, all authors and reviewers are non-anonymous to one another. In our view, non-anonymous reviewing does not diminish the rigor, integrity, and validity of the peer-review process. Rather, we believe it creates a more open and honest dialogue between authors and reviewers.
All submissions should be made electronically at http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/has. Please follow the instructions for creating an account. Then the system will walk you through a step-by-step process for manuscript submission.
Submit all general submission manuscripts and pedagogy manuscripts at: http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/has For all general inquiries email Editor-in-Chief, Dr. hephzibah v. strmic-pawl and Managing Editor, Heidi Nicholls, at humanityandsocietyjournal@gmail.com For Pedagogy specific questions, contact Editor Dr. Myron Strong at hspedagogyeditor@gmail.com
For Book and Media Reviews inquiries and submissions, contact Editors Dr. Shaonta’ Allen and Dr. Maretta McDonald at ahsbooksreviews@gmail.com
Book Review Submissions
Humanity & Society (H&S) offers a book review section that aims to offer thoughtful summaries and appraisals of recently released books germane to humanist sociology. Reviewers are asked to keep the H&S mission in mind when reviewing. Humanist sociology is broadly defined as a sociology developed through rigorous and critical analyses of inequality, exploitation, and injustice while undergirded by an earnest commitment to generate knowledge that can be used to ameliorate social suffering. We are committed to a sociology that contributes to a more humane, equal, and just society and that invites diverse perspectives and forms of knowledge into the conversation.
H&S reviews books in thematic bundles. This, we believe, enhances the effectiveness of the reviews, as they can be situated in a collection of topically similar texts that deliver contrasting theoretical and empirical approaches. To this end, we encourage our reviewers to address not only how individual books contribute to their own specialized field of knowledge, but to also think of the broader implications of the study and its insights for understanding the general process of stratification and social change among other contemporary approaches.
H&S generally does not publish unsolicited book reviews. However, we are always interested in being alerted to new books that speak to the humanist sociological tradition and to new people who wish to review those books. If you would like to suggest a book for review, please send the full bibliographic information about the book to the book review editor, Selina R. Gallo-Cruz at the address below. Also, if you would like to be considered as a book reviewer, please send a copy of curriculum vitae and a list of at least three general and three specific (no more than six) key subject areas in which you would be comfortable reviewing, to the book review editor. Please note that book reviews are limited to 750-1000 words, depending on the number of entries per issue.
Selina R. Gallo-Cruz
Book Review Editor, Humanity & Society
Department of Sociology and Anthropology
College of the Holy Cross
1 College Street
Worcester, MA 01610
sgallo@holycross.edu
Multimedia Review Submissions
Recognizing the multiple modalities of communication and how presentations enhance our sociological understanding of the complex realities of the 21st century, Humanity & Society announces the introduction of media reviews. We invite reviewers of sociological messages in photography, web-based art, websites, popular films and documentaries, radio broadcasts, and multimedia presentations. We also invite suggestions for media reviews.
*Please note that book reviews should be sent to our book review editor, Selina Gallo-Cruz at sgallo@holycross.edu. As a generalist sociology journal, Humanity & Society publishes media reviews on a wide variety of topics. We are particularly interested in media presentations that are relevant to humanist sociology. Humanist sociology is broadly defined as a sociology that views people not only as products of social forces but also as agents in their lives and the world. We are committed to a sociology that contributes to a more humane, equal, and just society.
The journal welcomes reviewers from diverse backgrounds and with diverse perspectives, including activists, graduate students, and practitioners in fields other than sociology. Potential reviewers are also encouraged to contact the Media Editor, Bhoomi K. Thakore, with suggestions for reviews in their areas of interest and expertise.
Agreement to prepare a review for Humanity & Society assumes that the reviewer has no substantial material or personal connection to the material or to the producer. Reviews in violation of this guideline will not be published.
Written submissions should not exceed 1,000 words. Reviews should also include your:
Name:
Position:
Media Outlet:
Mailing Address:
Email Address:
& Titles and dates published, along with URLs for electronic and multimedia presentations.
If you think any additional contextual information would be useful, please include it with your submission/review.
To review for Humanity & Society, or to offer suggestions for reviews, please contact our Media Editor, Bhoomi K. Thakore, with a brief summary of your interest and prior reviewing experience at bhoomi.thakore@northwestern.edu.
Supplemental Materials
This journal is able to host additional materials online (e.g. datasets, podcasts, videos, images etc) alongside the full-text of the article. For more information please refer to our guidelines on submitting supplementary files.