Authors must submit their manuscripts online at
https://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/americananthro-jlaca
Please see these sections below
Review Process
Word Limits, Images, Video Clips, Audio Recordings
Accepted Languages of Submissions
Formatting: Fonts, Margins, Indentations
Document Types and Stylesheet
Writing, Language and Audience
Cover Page, Titles, Abstract, Keywords
Illustrations (Tables & Charts)
Illustrations (Images & Maps)
Supplementary Audio & Video Recordings
Permissions to Publish
Review Process
JLACA uses a double blind review, which means that reviewers do not know the name of the author whose manuscript they are evaluating. Thus, authors need to upload a manuscript file with no identifying author information (designate this as “Main Document”). Similarly do not include any text that identifies authors when inputting information into the “Author’s Cover Letter” or in the “Author’s Response” fields when submitting your manuscript in ScholarOne. This information is automatically shared by the system with reviewers when authors upload a revised manuscript for resubmission.
In your manuscript, eliminate all running headers or footers. Further, references to your own work should be anonymized. For instance, if you are Susan Smith, a citation reading “(Smith 2003, 13)” should appear as “(Author 2003, 13).” However, there should be NO reference to “Author 2003” in the bibliography at all: citations to your own work should be completely omitted from the bibliography in the review process. All author information is reserved for the title page (with filename “Title Page”).
JLACA is committed to a timely and efficient review process. As a matter of policy JLACA shares all reviewers’ as well as all editor comments with all reviewers and authors, except those comments that reviewers have designated as confidential/for editors only.
Word Limits, Images, Video Clips, Audio Recordings
- Research Articles are limited to 8,000 words and up to four images, three video clips, and four audio recordings.
- Provocations are limited to 10,000 words and may normally include up to ten images, up to ten video clips (generally of 1-3 minutes maximum), up to ten audio recordings
- Event articles are limited to 7000 words with up to ten images, plus video and or audio files.
JLACA strongly encourages all authors to integrate visual images (photographs, tables, charts) as well as video clips and audio recordings that derive from their research
JLACA is committed to pioneering a more thoroughly conceived and practiced form of multi-media ethnographic research and reporting. Ethnographic fieldwork, just as all forms of anthropological research entail sensory experiences that exceed the written word. We encourage all anthropologists to exploit the technological changes to more thoroughly, consistently, thoughtfully, and habitually integrate photographic images, video, and audio into their written journal article based analyses, reports, and interpretations.
The limits noted here on these supplementary materials are essentially arbitrary and if you have a justified argument for exceeding these limits, we are anxious to support your work.
All visual, audio, and video materials require authors to have rights of publication.
All text, meaning the title, abstract, references, endnotes, acknowledgements are included in the calculation of the word limit. JLACA eschews acknowledgements as this text is also counted toward the word limit.
Accepted Languages of Submissions
JLACA accepts submissions in English, Spanish, and Portuguese. JLACA publishes manuscripts that have been accepted in the original language in which it is submitted. Translations of accepted articles into a language different than the original submission are not published, but must be submitted for a new and separate review process. If an author substitutes a translation of the accepted article during copyediting or production, the manuscript is withdrawn from The Journal and publication is cancelled. Authors should therefore submit their manuscript in the language in which they wish to be published.
Formatting: Fonts, Margins, Indentations
Submissions that do not follow the formatting stipulations below are returned to author for correction.
- The entire text should have exactly one inch margins on all sides and have no running headers or footers except for pagination numbering.
- Times Roman font in 12 pitch font size, for all text (e.g., headers, citations, references, endnotes, titles, captions, lists, quotes, body).
- Use endnotes. Do not use footnotes. Locate endnotes at end of the body of text before references); do not use footnotes. Endnote number location always goes after the sentence ending punctuation marks (e.g., period or question mark). Do not insert the quote in the middle of the sentence, including not following colon or semi-colon.
- Do not embed the list of references as an extension of the endnotes.
- Double spacing on all text, except for before new section headers and after title. Do not use any extra space padding before or after any lines of text including headers, titles, references, endnotes, etc.
- Margins are one inch (2.54 cm) on all sides.
- Flush left paragraphing on all text. Do not use justified paragraphing anywhere in the file.
- Body of Text: Use the automatic paragraph indentations of .5 on the main body of the text.
- Quotations have block text inset .5 on the left only and must not have a paragraph indentation.
- Manuscript Title: 12 pitch Times Roman, bold, centered, double spacing. Add one additional double spaced line (one “carriage return”/”enter”) after the title.
- Section Headers: Do not use any indentation, flush left, 12 pitch Times Roman, bold. Add one additional double spaced line (one “carriage return”/”enter”) before a section header. Use “References” for the list of citations.
- Punctuation: Periods go inside (before) ending “quotation marks.” Periods go outside of parentheses (that is, after closing parentheses). Colons and semi-colons go after closing quotation marks and parentheses.
- Ensure that your manuscript does not have more than one space between characters or between characters and punctuation marks (colons, semi-colons, periods, question marks, etc.).
- In English language submissions foreign words are italicized.
- Capitalize every word in English language section headers or titles. In Spanish and Portuguese language submissions you should normally only capitalize the first word of headers or titles unless otherwise specified by that languages norms of capitalization.
*** For English submissions use of Chicago Manual 16 on all questions, especially including on punctuation, numbers and numbering, citations, and references.
*** For Spanish language submissions please use the Spanish adaptation of the Chicago Manual, called Manual de estilo Chicago-Deusto approved by the Real Academia Española:
See: http://www.deusto-publicaciones.es/deusto/pdfs/otraspub/otraspub07.pdf.
See also: https://www.flacso.edu.ec/portal/pnTemp/PageMaster/vmijsw5eohm3pi5dhhfroe4swicobe.pdf
Document Types and Stylesheet
All articles must be submitted as Word documents using Times New Roman font, double spaced, flush left paragraphing, and one inch (2.54 cm) margin on all sides, top and bottom of the page. Please ensure the deletion of author identification in the file’s document information and meta-data.
JLACA follows the Chicago Manual of Style, 16th edition and uses the Author-Date system for in-text citations. Note that manuscript submissions that do not conform to Chicago style and format are returned to authors. Please review current rules and examples in the AAA online guide to Chicago style.
It is journal policy to write all ethnic and racial designators such as black, white, mestizo, negro, cholo, indian, creole, mulato, and so on, in lower case.
Writing, Language, and Audience
The Journal aims to be accessible to a broad, scholarly readership interested in the anthropology of the Americas, specifically Latin America and the Caribbean. JLACA does not publish submissions that are only written for specialists of the specific country, culture, or community that is the subject of the research. Authors must seek to engage audiences of anthropologists working on issues that extend beyond the particular locations of research.
Articles are accepted in English, Portuguese, and Spanish. Articles are published in the language of the original submission. Scholars may prefer to write in a language that is not their native or academic “first” language. For example, a primarily Spanish or Portuguese speaker may prefer to publish in English or a native English speaker may choose to write in Spanish or Portuguese. In those cases in which an author chooses to write their manuscript in a language other than their primary, it is incumbent upon the author to ensure that their text is grammatically and syntactically correct and that there are no substantial and repetitive grammatical errors. Further, it is imperative that the author pay attention to the quite different stylistic norms of US academia. Authors from Europe and Latin America should pay focused attention on the different style rules of the Chicago Manual of Style specifically in relation to the use of: punctuation and quotation marks in the body of the text; line spacing and paragraphing of citations in references; as well as formatting, paragraph indentation, font size, and line spacing of endnotes.
The first use of a non-English language word in English language manuscripts should appear in italics and be translated in parentheses. After first-use, italics are not required.
Submissions must be written clearly and exclude rarified language. Articles should have a clearly expressed argument and structure of argumentation that is supported by evidence. Authors must provide a clear description of the contribution to anthropological research of the Americas, the significance of this contribution, and the subfields or debates that the author engages. See below for more information regarding titles, keywords and key phrases, and abstracts.
On the Use of the Word “Article” vs “Paper”
JLACA publishes articles. Thus, authors should use the word “article” in any statement that references the text as a particular type of genre-form that they have submitted for review. In other words, do not use or refer to your text as essay, paper, manuscript, or other related terms. The exception to this rule is if the author seeks to make an explicit, and clearly stated, theoretical, analytical, or interpretive point with the use of a different word. JLACA does consider that the articles it publishes in The Journal are ethnographies.
On the Use of the Future Tense—“Will”
The Journal policy eschews the use of the future tense with “will” in statements in which the author describes the content of the article. In virtually all cases “will” can simply be deleted without any grammatical difficulties or corruption of meaning what so ever. For example, “I will analyze the case of …” should be written, “I analyze the case of…” Or, “This article will examine practices of …” should be written, “This article examines practices of …” Do not use “will” in descriptions of the article.
On Author’s Use of First Person Pronouns
JLACA allows authors to choose, according to their stylistic preference, the use of either the first person or syntax that conceals the author in third person rhetorical structures. Thus, for example, “I [or we] analyze in part one…” versus “Part one analyzes…”
Cover Page, Titles, Abstracts, Keywords
Search engines use titles, subtitles, abstracts, and keywords in bringing an article to the attention of a prospective reader. Readers also make decisions about what to read based on the content of the title and abstract. It is, therefore, important to carefully work on these three parts of an article in order to enhance discoverability and attract readers. Scholars also frequently cite articles solely on the basis of an abstract, which in turn is beneficial to the journal. Abstracts should be concise and explicitly convey the article’s principal and original contributions. Jargon should be avoided. JLACA recommends that authors develop titles that have clear and immediate reference and meaning for generally educated scholars; titles should avoid obscure references, jokes, or phrases that are only identifiable to a small community of researchers. It is recommended that titles provide information that clearly identifies the author’s central research issue/s, approach, argument or conceptual frameworks; subtitle should therefore offer more detail that communicates the particular subject matter of the article.
Illustrations (Tables & Charts)
JLACA refers to all tables and charts as tables. Submit each table in a separate in a Word document to allow for copyediting. Do not submit in PDF. Give each table a number and a short descriptive title (e.g., Table 1: Short descriptive title). The Word file must follow this filenaming system: “author-name_table ##” and named in sequence. In the manuscript file located bracketed callouts between paragraphs to indicate the location of each table: [Please insert Table 1 here]. In the text, reference each table once, typically in a parenthetical reference, e.g.: (see Table 1).
Illustrations (Images & Maps)
JLACA refers to any and all maps and images as figures and each must be submitted in a separate JPG file. Do not embed images in the manuscript. Image files must have 300 dpi resolution and print size of 8 x 10 inches without pixilation or distortion. If the original image file does not have 300 dpi sized at a minimum of 8×10 inches the image cannot be used for publication. Do not resize to enlarge. The jpg file must follow this filenaming system: “author-name_figure##” in which each file corresponds to an image and are numbered in sequence, author-name Figure 1, author-name Figure 2, and so on.
In the manuscript file, locate the bracketed callouts between paragraphs to indicate the location of each figure. Use this format: [Insert Figure 1 here]. This text is flush left, double spacing no additional spaces above or below.
In the text, reference each table once, typically in a parenthetical reference, e.g.: (see Table 1).
In a separate document, labelled “author-name_captions” submit all the captions for each image numbered to correspond with the image files: Figure 1, Figure 2. All captions should include a basic description of the image that identifies who, what, when, and where. This caption must also include the photo credits (author/photographer and who holds the permission for its use).
For Example:
Figure 1. Picapedros (stone miners) climb up the steep site of their andesite mine, Lozán Grande, located in the Chimborazo National Reserve. Photo Credit: Mateo Ponce, May 2012.
Each image that is not credited to the author must supply a unique statement of permission to use. Please include a separate file for each permission. Label this file to correspond to the filename of the image and add the word “permission” at the end of the file name:
“author-name_figure##_permission”
Issue Cover Photos: The JLACA editors will select an image for the cover of the issue from images used in the articles.
Supplementary Video & Audio Recordings
JLACA encourages authors to integrate audio and video materials into their articles. Research articles can normally published three to four images, while Events and Provocations can accept up to ten images. If you wish to submit a visual ethnography with more than ten images, please contact the Editor-in-Chief as you prepare you paper.
Audio, video, and images that exceed our normal limit are published in the journal via the Wiley platform. For technical information on how to prepare and submit video and audio recordings that author have produced or for which they have permission, please visit Wiley’s Author Resources information.
CAVEAT for Authors: When submitting submissions through the ScholarOne Portal authors should be careful to upload supplementary video or audio using the menu “Upload Supplementary Materials.” This will ensure that reviewers have immediate access to see, hear, and review these files and data. Images, tables, figures and other graphics should be uploaded under the “Upload Figures” menu options. These then are automatically integrated into a pdf with the text of the manuscript for the reviewers. Video or audio uploaded through the “Figure upload” menu will not be accessible to reviewers.
Permissions to Publish
As author, you must submit written permissions for each photographic image, audio recording, video, chart, map or table that is being reprinted or whose publication rights are owned by a third party. In addition you must provide written permission and authorship rights for each photo, audio recording and video for which you are the owner or for which you to retain publication rights. The written permission must include a statement of ownership of rights and the authorization of JLACA to publish the indicated item both in print and online.