Submission Guidelines

Eligibility:

For the Journal, we welcome submissions from all students enrolled at Maastricht University. For the Blog, we do allow students from any other university as long as they are co-writing with a student from Maastricht University. We also welcome guest authors for the blog, as long as a request was sent to our mail and that request has been accepted after deliberation. We aim to amplify diverse voices in feminist scholarship, and we encourage contributions from students across disciplines at Maastricht University.

Below you can find both journal and blog submission guidelines.

Use of AI

The journal permits very limited use of AI tools, such as language or grammar assistants, only to support clarity, readability, or formatting. AI should not be used to generate content, arguments, data analysis, or research findings. Submissions must reflect the author's original scholarship, critical thinking, and intellectual contribution.

Authors must disclose any of use of AI tools within the Author File, ensure that all ideas, analysis, and conclusions are the author's own work, and maintain academic integrity where plagiarism policies apply to AI-assisted text.

Submissions that misrepresent AI-generated content as original may be rejected or withdrawn, following the journal's ethical standards.

Submission to the Journal

1. Scope of the Journal

The Maastricht Journal of Feminism publishes multidisciplinary feminist research, with a focus on gender, power, intersectionality, sexuality, postcolonial theory, technology, and social justice. We accept theoretical, doctrinal, empirical, and methodological contributions. Only students from Maastricht University are eligible to submit.

2. Manuscript Requirements

7,000 to 15,000 words
Submissions must be original, previously unpublished, and not simultaneously under review elsewhere
Format:
- 12 point font, double-spaced
- Times New Roman font
- Standard margins
- Footnotes and Bibliography in APA7 style
Include a cover page with:
- an abstract (150-200 words) and 5-7 keywords at the top of the manuscript
Submit as a .doc or .docx file
- PDF submissions are not accepted

3. Author Information File

Submitted separately and includes:

Full name
Institution affilitation / university and program
Contact email
150-word biographical note
Any acknowledgments or funding disclosures
Ethics and consent - Authors must disclose:
- Conflict of interest
- Ethical approval for studies involving human subjects
- Use of AI tools and the extent of their contribution (see above for use of AI)

4. Submission Procedure

Send manuscripts to maastrichtfeministjournal@gmail.com with subject line "Submission - [Article Type] - [Your Last Name]"

5. Editorial Process

Initial Submission Screening (1st week):
- Editors will check the manuscript for scope, originality, and compliance with submission guidelines (word count, format, citation style)
- Manuscripts that are out of scope or do not meet basic requirement may be desk-rejected with brief feedback. We do give authors 1 week to adhere to the basic requirements to resubmit the manuscript. This will only be done once.
Editorial Review (2nd and 3rd week)
- Editors will read and assess the manuscript for:
  - Contribution to feminist scholarship
  - Conceptual clarity and theoretical rigor
  - Methodological soundness (if applicable)
  - Writing quality and structure
- Manuscripts are copyedited as well for grammar and style.
- Editors make joint decision to: accept, accept with minor edits, or reject
- Editors may request revisions before external review or move directly to peer review for suitable submissions.
Peer Review (4th to 8th week)
- One or two external peer reviewers may be invited. These reviewers are selected based on expertise and asked to provide constructive feedback within 4 weeks.
Revision Stage (9th and 10th week)
- Authors revise manuscripts in response to editor and reviewer comments. Revisions are submitted with a response letter explaining editorial feedback.
- The journal editors will then verify whether the revisions were addressed satisfactorily
Publication: Accepted manuscripts are published online on this website.

Submission to the Blog

1. Submission Requirements

700 to 3,000 words
authors must be from Maastricht University, co-writing with a student from Maastricht University, or be a guest author whose request via our email was accepted
Submissions must be original, previously unpublished, and not simultaneously under review elsewhere
Submit as .doc or .docx format
Citations: Hyperlinks where necessary
Bibliography: Provide a bibliography in APA7 style
Images: Authors may include up to two images or graphics; ensure proper permissions or copyright-free sources
Style: Clear, readable prose suitable for a broad audience. Avoid excessive jargon; define specialist terms when necessary.
For creative / experimental pieces:
- an additional short contextual note (150 words) should be added at the top of the submission, explaining the conceptual and/or theoretical significance of the piece, and arguing for how it advances insight rather than merely entertain.
- Authors retain copyright but grant the journal the right to publish online

2. Author Information File

Submitted separately and includes:

Full name
Institution affiliation / university and program
Contact email
150-word biographical note
Any acknowledgements or funding disclosures
Ethics and consent - Authors must disclose:
- Conflict of interest
- Ethical approval for studies involving human subjects
- Use of AI tools and the extent of their contribution (see above for use of AI

3. How to Submit

Send your blog post to maastrichtfeministjournal@gmail.com with the subject line: "Blog Submission - [Submission Type] - [Last Name]

4. Editorial Process

Initial Screening (1st week): Editors assess suitability, clarity, tone and relevance
Developmental Editing (2nd and 3rd week): Authors may be asked to revise for clarity, evidence, structure, or accessibility
Copyediting (4th week): Final proofreading, formatting, headline refinement, and hyperlink checks
Publication: Posts are published online and promoted through our journal's social channels

Accepted Types of Submissions

Below you can find a non-exhaustive list of submissions we accept

Type of Journal Submissions

Research Articles

Presentation of academic research in an accessible prose for a broader audience. Authors may present preliminary findings, summarise a recently published article, outline emerging arguments, or reflect on theoretical contributions.

Review Essays

Concise analytical pieces offering timely reflections on current debates, recent legal or policy developments, emerging feminist issues, or responses to previously published work. These pieces should be foreground theoretical or critical insight while remaining accessible and argumentative.

Methodological Essays

Articles that advance or critically examine feminist, decolonial, intersectional, queer, or participatory research methods. Submissions may explore epistemological questions, outline innovative approaches, or offer critical reflections on practice-based methodologies

Case Notes & Legal/Policy Analyses

Focused analyses of recent judicial decisions, legislative reforms, or policy instruments. These submissions should situate the development within broader feminist scholarly debates and articulate its theoretical, social, or practical implications

Community-Engaged or Practice-Based Reports

Reflective or analytical reports grounded in collaboration with feminist organisations, grassroots movements, or community initiatives. Submissions should connect practical experiences to relevant theoretical frameworks and demonstrate scholarly rigor.

Book Review Symposia or Extended Review Discussions

Multi-author review collections centred on a single feminist text of significance. Submissions should provide diverse, critical, and theoretically informed perspectives on the work under review.

Type of Blog Submissions

Research Insights / Research-in-Progress Posts

Commentary & Short Interventions

Interviews & Dialogues

Scholarly interviews or conversational exchanges with activists, practitioners, or scholars. These submissions should generate original insight, document feminist praxis, or introduce emerging voices within feminist research landscapes

Creative or Narrative Scholarship

Academic contributions that employ auto-ethnography, narrative analysis, or other forms of theoretically creative works. These submissions must maintain scholarly coherence while using alternative or experimental forms to explore feminist questions

Cultural & Media Analyses

Critical analyses of cultural texts (such as media, film, literature, digital platforms, popular culture, or social narratives) through an intersectional and/or feminist lens. Submissions should provide diverse, critical, and theoretically informed perspectives on the work under review.

Community-Engaged or Activist Reports

Reports or reflective pieces arising from collaborations with feminist organisations, community groups, NGOs, activist movements, or social justice initiatives. Posts may document challenges, lessons, or outcomes. They should explicitly link practice-based experiences with feminist theory, demonstrating how scholarship and activism intersect.

Book Notes & Scholarly Reviews

Concise reflections on recently published books or influential feminist texts. Posts should summarise the core arguments, assess the text's contribution to feminist scholarship, and explain its relevance for ongoing debates.

Feminist Methodology Notes

Posts that interrogate the practice of feminist research. Submissions may explore fieldwork experiences, reflexivity and positionality, ethical dilemmas, decolonial or participatory methods, challenges of researching marginalised communities, and methodological innovations in digital or interdisciplinary research. These submissions should link personal or practical challenges to broader scholarly conversations about feminist epistemology and research ethics.

Policy or Legal Briefs

Concise analyses of recent legislation, policy proposals, judicial decisions, or regulatory developments. Submissions should offer a clear summary of the issue, followed by an intersectional feminist critique. Authors may assess implications for marginalised communities, institutional accountability, or gender justice, and may provide recommendations or forward-looking reflections.

Policy or Legal Briefs

Pedagogical Reflections

Pedagogical Reflections : 800 to 1,200 words

Examines feminist approaches to teaching and learning, where topics may include inclusive classroom strategies, teaching sensitive or trauma-related content, reflections on course design, confronting bias in academic settings, experiences with feminist pedagogy across disciplines.

Creative & Experimental Pieces

Creative submissions exploring feminist themes through non-traditional, expressive, or experimental formats. These may include:

poetry, prose, or short creative nonfiction reflecting feminist themse, activism, or lived experience
multimodal essays integrating text with images, infographics or social commentary (provide text alternatives or captions for accessibility)
Graphic essays / comics that convey feminist arguments or social commentary
Hybrid forms that blend critical reflection, storytelling, and artistic expression

Content should be grounded in feminist analysis, thus these submissions require an additional short contextual note (150 words) at the top of the submission, explaining the conceptual and/or theoretical significance of the piece, and arguing for how it advances insight rather than merely entertain.