This page is designed to help you ensure your submission is ready for and fits the scope of the journal.
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No Author or Reader Charges
JTAS is non-fee, non-commercial, free to authors and to readers. We have no submission charges or article processing charges (APC), and all published articles are immediately and freely available to readers.
Turnaround Times
We aim to inform authors within eight weeks whether their manuscripts will be placed into peer review, and we aim to complete the external review process within four months of submission.
Reviewing Criteria
In the interests of supporting authors in preparing a good submission, here are the guidelines we provide to our peer reviewers.
We ask reviewers to comment on the originality, relevance, and scholarly rigor of articles. We also ask the following questions of reviewers:
1) Archive
Please comment on whether existing literature in this area has been considered: Is any relevant work missing? Are references to existing work accurate?
2) Argument
Do the introduction and conclusion reflect the argument in the main text?
Please comment on whether the abstract adequately summarizes the article.
3) Writing Style
Is the manuscript logically structured and does the argument flow coherently?
Does the introduction detail the argument in a logical way and does the conclusion adequately summarize it?
Please comment on the quality of the writing style. [We do not ask reviewers about spelling, punctuation, and grammar but readers will sometimes comment on these matters].
4) Figures
Please comment on the article’s use of tables, charts, figures, images or maps.
Please note if any of the above are missing captions or keys, or require any further editing.
5) General Comments
Any further comments if desired.
About
JTAS is a peer-reviewed journal for the critical exploration of postexceptionalist American Studies. Founded by Shelley Fisher Fishkin and Shirley Geok-lin Lim with Takayuki Tatsumi and Alfred Hornung, JTAS functions as an open-access forum for Americanists in the global academic community, where scholars are increasingly interrogating borders both within and outside the nation. We publish new essays by emerging and established scholars alongside special forums by guest editors who engage Transnational American Studies from a particular focus, as well as offering a Review section with invited book reviews and reviews of exhibitions, a Forward section featuring excerpts from new books relevant to transnational Americanist scholarship, and a Reprise section showcasing Americanist work that has attained new relevance in Transnational American Studies. We follow a double anonymized review process and do not charge author fees for publication (no APC).
We publish two issues a year and every edition is free to access online. Metrics indicating number of views are available for individual articles. In 2025, the journal had an H Index of 12.
JTAS is indexed in:
The Directory of Open Access Journals
The American Studies Journals Directory
MLA Bibliography
The Library of Congress has selected JTAS as one of a handful of online journals to be housed in the Library's permanent archive of electronic publications.
Sponsors
JTAS is sponsored by the Obama Institute for Transnational American Studies, University of Mainz, UC Santa Barbara's American Cultures and Global Contexts Center, and Stanford University's Program in American Studies, and supported by the UC-Davis Department of American Studies and Department of English. In order to facilitate the broadest possible cultural conversation about transnational American Studies, the journal will be available without cost to anyone with access to the Internet.
Publisher
JTAS is published by the University of California Digital Library.
Rights for Authors
Authors retain copyright for all content published in Journal of Transnational American Studies (JTAS). However, authors grant to the journal the right to publish the article under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/) license and to make available such content, in any format, in perpetuity. Authors may reproduce, in other contexts, content to which they possess the copyright, although in any subsequent publications JTAS should be acknowledged as the original publisher if that is the case.
Volumes 7-10 were published under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license. Starting with Volume 11, JTAS is published under an Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives (CC BY-NC-ND) license.
Rights for the Journal of Transnational American Studies (JTAS)
The Journal of Transnational American Studies retains the non-exclusive right to make content available in any format in perpetuity. While authors may reproduce their work in other contexts, content published in the journal will not be removed from the website even if later published elsewhere. Authors must agree to the terms of publishing in the journal listed in the JTAS author agreement.
Focus and Scope
JTAS is a new critical conduit that seeks to bring together innovative transnational work from diverse but often disconnected sites in the US and abroad.
JTAS features a range of perspectives on Transnational American Studies across, and among, the disciplines.
Submission Checklist
Please affirm that:
this work is original and not previously published; and
this work has not been simultaneously submitted to another journal for consideration.
For practical reasons, we recommend adding "jtas.editors@gmail.com" to your safe list because we frequently use this email for correspondence.
Copyright Notice
JTAS is an open access journal, which means that all content is freely available without charge to readers or their institutions. Users are allowed to read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, or link to the full texts of the articles, or use them for any other lawful purpose, without asking prior permission from the publisher or the author.
1. As consideration for publication in JTAS, the Author grants JTAS the following rights:
1.1. A non-exclusive, irrevocable, royalty-free right to publish, reproduce, publicly display, publicly perform, and distribute the Work, in perpetuity, throughout the world, in all means of expression, by any method or media now known or hereafter developed; and
1.2. A non-exclusive, irrevocable, royalty-free right to license others, including, but not limited to, databases or printing vendors, to do any or all of the above on a non-exclusive basis.
2. The Author warrants that:
2.1. The Author is the author of the Submission, or is authorized to act on behalf of the author(s) and copyright holder(s) (if different from the author(s)), and has the power to convey the rights granted in this agreement.
2.2. If the Submission has multiple authors, the other authors are identified in the Submission, and the Author will inform the other authors of the terms of this agreement.
2.3. Any material included in the Submission that is the intellectual property or work of another, including, but not limited to, textual, graphic or multimedia material. is identified and cited in the Submission.
2.4. If the Submission reproduces any material that is the intellectual property of another, the Author has received permission to publish that material in the Submission, or the material is being incorporated based on an informed, reasonable, and good faith application of fair use.
2.5. The Submission is the original work of the Author(s). To the best of the Author’s knowledge, it does not contain matter that is obscene, libelous, or defamatory; it does not knowingly violate another’s right of privacy, right of publicity, or other legal right; does not contain false or misleading statements; and is otherwise not unlawful.
2.6. The Submission has not been previously published, and is not pending review elsewhere. If this is not the case, the Author has provided JTAS with written statement setting forth complete citations for all other locations where the Submission appears, has appeared, or is pending review. Prior distribution of a Submission, including in a preprint server or repository, does not mean a Submission will not be considered for publication; JTAS is primarily concerned with other appearances in similar publications.
2.7. If the Author is a student, the Author agrees to share the Submission and waive any privacy rights granted by FERPA or any other law, policy or regulation, with respect to the Submission, for the purpose of publication. If the Author has any student co-authors, prior to publication, the Author will obtain a signed copy of this agreement from those co-authors.
3. Indemnification
The Author will indemnify and hold JTAS, its editors, publishers, sponsors, agents, representatives, and volunteers (collectively, the “Journal Personnel”), harmless, including reasonable attorneys’ fees actually incurred, against loss, damages, expenses, awards, costs, and judgments arising from breach of any of the above warranties. Journal Personnel are intended third-party beneficiaries of this indemnification obligation.
4. Author’s Rights and Obligations
4.1. Nothing in this agreement constitutes a transfer of the copyright by the Author. As such, the Author retains all rights not expressly granted herein, including but not limited to, the right:
4.1.1. To reproduce and distribute the Submission, and to authorize others to reproduce and distribute the Submission, in any format;
4.1.2. To post the Submission in an institutional repository or the Author’s personal or departmental web page.
4.1.3. To include the Submission, in whole or in part, in another work.
4.2. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if the Author distributes the Submission on another website or in another publication (as described above), JTAS will be cited as the source of first publication if applicable.
5. Rights for Readers
JTAS and the Author agree that the Submission will be distributed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0), or other later version of the same license, that allows others to copy and redistribute the Submission, as long as they provide appropriate credit to the author(s) and do not use the Submission for commercial purposes. Anyone who uses or redistributes the Submission under this license must indicate any changes that were made, must link to the license, and cannot imply that the author(s) endorse them or their use. Anyone who translates, adapts, or builds upon the Submission may not distribute the modified material. More information about this license is available at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/.
6. Termination
The Author agrees to the terms of this agreement for the Submission being considered for publication. If the Submission is declined, this agreement is terminated.
Peer Review
This journal operates a double anonymous peer review policy.
Peer Review Process
There are 4 major steps to the peer review process:
1) Upon receipt, each manuscript will be screened to determine its suitability for publication prior to in-depth review. Manuscripts that are poorly prepared, of low technical quality, or otherwise inappropriate will be returned to the author(s) without additional review.
2) All manuscripts initially approved will be “peer reviewed” anonymously by at least two scholars selected from a list of potential reviewers and/or members of the Advisory Board. In double anonoymous process, neither author nor reviewer know the identity of the reviewer/author.
3) The anonymized reader reports and submissions are reviewed by the Editorial Board, who will vote to accept with minor revisions; to accept with required revisions; to request the author to revise and resubmit; or to decline the article for consideration. Authors will be informed regarding the votes and reviews; pertinent comments by the Board may be included anonymously. A timeframe for revisions, copyedits, and/or publication will be provided.
4) Articles to be revised will be reviewed internally; in the case of "revise and resubmit" decisions, revisions will be read by external readers. We request that submissions sent back to authors for revision and resubmission be revised in a timely manner.
We aim to have articles reviewed within four months from date of submission.
Final drafts from authors will go through a copyediting process where authors have a final chance to make minor, last-minute revisions before publication.
Authors are expected to have gained copyright permissions for any protected images in their articles before final submission of galley proofs.
Licences
The following licences are allowed:
- CC BY-NC-ND 4.0
Attribution — You must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made. You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses you or your use. NonCommercial — You may not use the material for commercial purposes. NoDerivatives — If you remix, transform, or build upon the material, you may not distribute the modified material. No additional restrictions — You may not apply legal terms or technological measures that legally restrict others from doing anything the license permits.
Publication Cycle
This journal accepts submissions continuously all year round and publishes two issues per year.
Sections
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Section or article type |
Public Submissions |
Peer Reviewed |
Indexed |
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Open call for general JTAS issue |
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Special: Alfred Hornung |
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JTAS SPECIAL FORUM Thinking With and Beyond "Vietnam": 50 Years After the US Wars in Southeast Asia |
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Special Section: Reflections on the US 2024 Elections in a Global Context |