Given the theme of the magazine, submissions should relate to the concept or practice of socially and/or politically engaged social research. However what this entails substantively is left to the discretion of contributors.

Submissions should be double-spaced and in rtf, doc or docx file formats. Other formatting will be automatic when the content is posted online. If you wish to include hyperlinks within your article then add the link in square brackets within the text and specify precisely which word or phrase you wish the link to apply to e.g. “['social imagination' - www.sociologicalimagination.org]. Please indicate multimedia you wish to include within your article in the same way. Due to technical constraints we can’t guarantee that requested media will be included.

Submissions should be sent via e-mail. Likewise if you have any questions or would like to discuss a potential contribution then please feel free to get in touch.

Articles

Between 1000 and 3000 words. Articles should be reflective attempts to scrutinise topical events from a sociological perspective or more enduring issues relating to the magazine’s themes.

Polemics

Between 500 and 1500 words. It’s less necessary to engage in the sort of careful reflection required by a longer article, although obviously off-the-cuff rants should be avoided. Hopefully polemics provide a forum for the sort of passionate and personal, though still intellectual, engagements with issues which aren’t acceptable within peer-reviewed journals.

Book Reviews

Between 500 and 1000 words. Book reviews should attempt to relate a book’s contents to the themes of the magazine, as well as offering a vigorous though fair engagement with the ideas involved. Ideally such a review should be able to give a reader of the magazine a clear impression of the book’s focus and aims, as well as some sense of whether they would gain something from reading the book.

Review Essays

Between 1000 and 3000 words. Review essays should focus less on the structure and content of the book(s) and more on how the ideas within them relate to the magazine’s themes. Ideally such an essay would contextualise the book(s) under consideration and relate them, critically or otherwise, to wider trends within social research.

Research Profiles

Between 500-1000 words. As well as describing the aims, content and rationale of the research, profile which try and explain the private commitments which underlie the public scholarship. What biographical factors led you to care about research in this area? How does your research relate to your ethics and your politics?

Interviews

No set word limit. If the interview is too long then we may prefer to host it as a podcast. Similarly unless we are sent the interview transcript, it will be posted as a pod cast.

Reports

Between 500-2000 words. Conference reports can summarise the events of the day and offer some evaluation of their significance and relation to the magazine’s themes. Alternatively they can be a more personal engagement with some particular aspect of the conference or its contents.