Editorial Policies

Focus and Scope

Romani Studies welcomes articles in all scholarly social science and humanities disciplines; articles may deal with any aspect of the history, language, cultures and social life of communities traditionally known as Gypsies (Roma, Sinti, Calo, Manus, Kaale etc. as well as Travellers or other historic or contemporary peripatetic groups). Reviews of books and audiovisual materials are also published. Romani Studies publishes two issues per year.

Editor, Assistant Editor and Editorial Board

The Editor bears the overall responsibility for the academic and editorial quality of the journal. The Editor acts as the chairperson of the Editorial Board, and relies on close and continuous cooperation with the Editorial Board. The Editor is responsible for the pre-selection of submitted article manuscripts for peer review, coordinates the entire review process and editorial tasks, and corresponds with the Book Review Editor and with Liverpool University Press. The Editor is supported in everyday editorial tasks by an Assistant Editor. The division of tasks between the Editor and Assistant Editor is decided on an as-needed basis. The Editor selects an Editorial Board, consisting of recognized scholars representing different fields of Romani Studies; they are all members of the Gypsy Lore Society. The Editorial Board is a decision-making body that operates at multiple stages of the editorial process; the Editor and Assistant Editor regularly consult with the Editorial Board. The policies of the journal are  determined by the Editorial Board in consultation with the Board of the Gypsy Lore Society. The Editorial Board meets in person in connection with the annual conferences of the Gypsy Lore Society and on-line on an as-needed basis related to each issue of the journal. Regular email contact is maintained between the Editor, the Assistant Editor, and the Editorial Board. 

Original Material

Romani Studies publishes original articles that have  not been published elsewhere, including in a language other than English. All submissions to Romani Studies have to be exclusive; during the review process, manuscripts may not be submitted elsewhere. If any portions of the article have already been published, they must be clearly indicated. Texts that have been published in a short version, for a workshop for instance, can be submitted in an extended version for review.

Peer Review Process

Romani Studies is a peer-refereed scholarly publication. Article manuscripts are generally evaluated by the editor and two anonymous referees. The journal uses double blind review. In case of contradictory reviews, the final decision will be made by the Editorial Board. Authors will be notified when a decision has been made to accept or reject a manuscript. Rejection may be outright, or with the possibility of revision and resubmission with or without a new peer-reviewing process.. Authors can expect receive a decision about publication within 12 weeks of submission.

Special Issues

Special Issues must receive initial approval from the Editor before the papers are submitted. Special Issue articles should fulfil all the regular requirements of Romani Studies articles, and should be of relevance to a wide international and multidisciplinary readership. Authors should note that the same criteria of quality, originality, and significance apply to articles in Special Issues as to regular articles.

The Editorial Board considers whether the proposal is of interest to the journal and whether it should proceed. The Editor and Guest Editor will liaise directly with each other regarding progress of the Special Issue and any queries that arise throughout the process. The Guest Editor can suggest peer reviewers, but the Editor oversees the entire peer review process. If an article is rejected by peer reviewers, the Editor may ask the Guest Editor for a replacement article. The final approval for each paper will be made by the Editor and the Editorial Board.

Special Issues contain 3-5 articles, and an abstract of 250 words for each article, as well as an introduction (at least 1000 words) written by the Guest Editor. A Special Issue proposal must contain: The title of the Special Issue; a brief CV of the Guest Editors (usually no more than three); a statement of the Special Issue’s significance for Romani Studies; a draft introduction if possible; titles and draft abstracts of each of the proposed articles; any draft papers that are available; brief biographies of contributors; a timetable.

Reviews and Book Reviews

Book Reviews are solicited by the Editors. Persons who wish to review particular books should contact the Book Review Editor. The review should include a complete bibliographic reference, including: full name of the author(s), complete title and subtitle, series title with volume number, publisher, place of publication (using the spelling in the material which is being reviewed: i.e. București, Warszawa, Chișinău, Praha, etc), and total number of pages. Titles in less common languages should be translated into English in square brackets. Languages employing a script other than a Latin script should be transliterated following ISO standards.

 Language of Publication

English is the publication language of the journal. Non-native speakers/writers are strongly advised to seek the support of a proof-reader with native-language competence before submitting their manuscript. Subject to financial limitations and the availability of translators, the editor might consider articles submitted in languages other than English. Quotations in the texts of articles should be translated into English; the original text of the quotation should be supplied for editorial purposes. Linguistic data as well as quotations in the Romani language or in the languages of interlocutors should be in the original language. Romani Studies uses UK English spelling. However, in case of American authors, the US spelling can be retained. 

Publication

Since 2023 Romani Studies has been published as an open-access journal. Liverpool University Press publishes the journal on behalf of the Gypsy Lore Society and mounts its content on the LUP platform.

To help cover publication costs, an article publication fee (APC) will be charged by Liverpool University Press after an article is accepted for publication. The fee is GBP 1,250 / USD 1500 for each article. Authors who do not have the means to cover the publication fee through grants or institutional support may request a waiver. Members of the Gypsy Lore Society will have priority for fee waivers. Please direct questions to romanistudies.authors@gmail.com.

Electronic Submission

Articles should be submitted electronically as attachments (in Word or RTF format). If the text contains extensive visual materials, three hard copies of papers are required in addition to the electronic submission.

Length, Style and Format

Manuscripts generally should not exceed 60,000 characters including spaces. Manuscripts, including notes, quotations, and lists of references cited, should be double-spaced. Each article should include an abstract of 100-150 words summarizing the essential points and findings of the paper, as well as up to ten keywords for indexing purposes. An author’s statement must be included with each manuscript on a separate page. It should follow the format:

[AUTHOR FULL NAME] is [JOB TITLE or POSITION] at [DEPARTMENT, FULL INSTITUTION POSTAL ADDRESS]. Email: [EMAIL].

Acknowledgments follow the text, and constitute the first paragraph of Notes, without a note number.

The journal uses footnotes rather than endnotes. Footnotes should be numbered consecutively throughout the paper. Include material in the text wherever possible, in order to minimize the length and number of footnotes.

References to literature appear as in-text citations in parentheses with the author’s last name, the year of original publication, and page, e.g. (Kroeber 1948: 205); if an author is mentioned in the text, list just the date and page, e.g. (1948: 205).

The complete list of references cited should appear at the end of the article (not in footnotes); the list of references should not include any publications not cited in the text. The format for references should be consistent with the following examples. Note that the full first names of authors (not merely initials) should be given. Titles of works cited – whether books, chapters, or articles – should appear in lower-case letters (except for grammatical capitals). Include full information on the place of publication and publisher, and the page numbers for chapters and articles.

Books:

Kenrick, Donald, and Puxon, Grattan. 1972. The destiny of Europe's Gypsies. London: Heinemann.

Mayall, David. 1988. Gypsy-Travellers in nineteenth-century society. New York: Cambridge University Press.

Matras, Yaron, ed. 1998. The Romani element in non-standard speech. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz.

Chapters in books/edited collections:

Piasere, Leonardo. 1987. In search of new niches: The productive organization of the peripatetic Xoraxane in Italy. In: Rao, Aparna, ed. The other nomads. Koln: Bohlau. 111-132.

Journal articles:

Salo, Matt T., and Salo, Sheila. 1982. Romnichel economic and social organization in urban New England, 1850-1930. Urban Anthropology 11 (3-4): 273-313.

Titles from the Journal of the Gypsy Lore Society/ Romani Studies:

Friedman, Victor A. 1991. Case in Romani: old grammar in new affixes. Journal of the Gypsy Lore Society. Fifth Series. 1 (1): 85-102.

Jakoubek, Marek, and Budilová, Lenka. 2006. Kinship, social organisation and genealogical manipulation in Gypsy osadas in eastern Slovakia. Romani Studies. Fifth Series. 16 (1): 63-82.

Manuscripts from public collections:

Constantinescu, Barbu. “Documents about Gypsies in Romania, gathered by Barbu Constantinescu. Volume III.” [Rom. “Material documentar cu privire la ţiganii din România, adunat de Barbu Constantinescu. Volum III.”]. year 1878. Romanian Academy Library. Mss. Rom. BAR 3925. (described in Rotaru, Julieta. 2018. Barbu Constantinescu, the first Romanian scholar of Romani studies. Romani Studies. Fifth Series. 28 (1): 41-78). 

Internet sources:

Marion Lièvre. 2016. Roms roumanisés, Ciurari, Ursari : ethnicité et appartenances sociales. Ethnographie des migrants roms roumains à Montpellier, Revue européenne des migrations internationales [En ligne], vol. 32 - n°1 | 2016, posted March 1, 2018, accessed June 14, 2018. URL : http://journals.openedition.org/remi/7625

Article from a Web page, no author:

Interesting Facts about the Roma. (2018). Accessed 14 June 2018 from

http://www.frua.org/resources/cultural-resources/countriesandculture/romany-gypsy-copy

Article from a Web page, no date:

Bessonov, Nikolai. (n.d.). Tsyganskiye etnogruppy na postsovetskom prostranstve [Gypsy ethnic groups in the post-Soviet space.] Accessed from http://gypsy-life.net/likbez.htm

Online newspaper article:

Nazaryan, Alexander. (2017, July 21, 11:43 AM). Fox News: ‘Gypsies’ are Threatening America, Defecating Everywhere and Beheading Chickens, Tucker Carlson Warns. Accessed   2 June 2018.

http://www.newsweek.com/tucker-carlson-fox-news-gypsies-trump-immigration-640004

Correspondence

Manuscripts and editorial correspondence should be sent to romanistudies.authors@gmail.com.

Books for review should be sent to the Book Review Editor:  Asst. Prof. Małgorzata Kołaczek, Instytut Studiów Międzykulturowych, Uniwersytet Jagielloński, ul. Gołębia 24, 31-007 Kraków Poland Email: gokol@o2.pl