On behalf of the Editorial Board of the South Asia Journal for the Study of Visual Culture, the Colombo Institute for the Advanced Study of Society and Culture would like to invite all interested individuals to submit papers, reviews, photo-essays and opinion essays for consideration for publication in the first and second issues of the South Asia Journal for the Study of Visual Culture.

There is no page limit for submissions. However, standard academic practices in the social sciences and humanities with regards to stylistic conventions and issues such as references and footnotes should be adhered to. More specifically, all references should be inserted in the main text within parentheses (eg., Last name of Author, Date of Publication: Page Numbers) and the complete reference details of all texts should be presented at the end of the paper as a separate bibliography. All essays should opt for endnotes where necessary but should not use footnotes. For additional details on general stylistic matters, potential writers can write to the Colombo Institute or refer to the Chicago Manual of Style(15th Revised Edition, 2003). More specific details with regards to the journal are provided in the following sections.

General Information and Introduction

Despite the emergence of a South Asian political identity such as SAARC with all its failings, commonalities, strengths and potentials, so far a strong South Asian intellectual and cultural identity that is politically articulated has not emerged. One reason for this is the absence of an intellectual forum such as a journal that is regularly published in the region or a regular series of conferences that would take place in the region. India based journals/newspapers such as the Economic and Political Weekly and the Contributions to Indian Sociology have created a sense of scholarship that has opened up to the region but has not tapped their full potential mostly due to relative difficulties in access to these publications from areas outside of India. In this context, Himal South Asian from Nepal is an exception given its South Asian focus. However, being a general interest magazine, its format cannot be replicated for a journal with more specific interests. Our intention is to publish a specialized publication which combines crucial features of a journal and a magazine that is open to serious scholarship and exchange of ideas across the region and beyond on issues that are of central importance to the region with regard to the broad areas covered by the key terms ‘society’, ‘culture’ and more specifically ‘visual culture.’ However, the fact that the journal is based in South Asia does not mean that its focus would be restricted to and parochialized on the basis of this regional or geographic identity. On the contrary, the idea is to enhance access of South Asian writers to a journal that is regionally published, regionally edited and managed and is responsive to intellectual needs, interests and concerns in the areas covered by the thematic focus of ‘visual culture.’

While striving for a certain degree of specialization, it might be obvious that the term ‘visual culture’ is deliberately meant to be broad. That is to ensure that the complexity of and the varied manifestations in the region covered by this concept can be accommodated within the intellectual forum that the journal will set up. In terms of conventional disciplinary parameters, the journal would accommodate contributions from the fields of sociology, social anthropology, history, archeology, art history, cultural studies and other related fields of study. More precisely, within and beyond these areas, its interest would be in culture and its extensions that would focus on cultural theory, art history and different domains of the ‘arts’ such as theatre, visual arts, architecture, film, music, dance, and the politics of these domains.

The journal is conceived as a regional forum for disseminating and debating ideas across the geographic and national boundaries of South Asia, and beyond. But its primary intellectual focus will be South Asia. The journal would not be a mere site for cultural description, but a critical site for debate and engagement with contemporary social theory. It is a refereed journal. This means that a vigorous peer review process is institutionalized as part of the overall operation of the journal to ensure its intellectual quality. It will be an annual publication to begin with, with the option of transforming it into a biannual or quarterly publication in the future if funds and intellectual infrastructure for its sustenance and a readership can be generated. Any individual can write to the journal as long as their contributions are in tune with the interests of the journal, relevant to the region and meet with the journal’s specific publishing criteria.

Logistics

The initial idea for the journal came from the Colombo Institute for the Advanced Study of Society and Culture. The Colombo Institute, which was previously known as the Collective for Socio Cultural Inquiry already successfully publishes two similar journals in Sinhala and Tamil in Sri Lanka, and has also set in motion an ambitious academic publication program in the local languages and in English. The idea for the journal is supported by the Theertha International Artists Collective in Colombo that also publishes its own journal called ArtLab in both Sinhala and Tamil. Khoj International in Delhi further supports the idea. The institutional responsibility for the journal is vested in the Colombo Institute. This will also ensure a certain degree of foundational stability and identity.

The journal will be produced in Colombo, while Khoj and Colombo Institute will facilitate its distribution in the region and beyond. The initial funds for the publication have come from the Colombo Institute, Theertha International and Hivos to ensure that the first and second issues (2006 and 2007) are published smoothly. The journal will also be published on the websites of organizations such as Khoj and Theertha, which will help create a serious internet based forum for debate

Format

Taking into account issues and requirements of the region, the following format will be followed by the journal:

Brief editorial note to place in context the main issues and areas covered in each issue.
The main section open for scholarship: This would be the main section in the journal, which is where the peer-reviewed essays will be published. At least four or five main essays of this nature will be published in each volume.
Photo essays: This section is open to individuals interested in pictorially contextualizing an event, incident or process that is relevant to the focus of the journal.
Opinion: This section is open to opinions and debates in the form of short essays with regard to the varied issues that the journal is attempting to address. It will be a critical space for discourse.
Reviews: This section is open to both critical reviews of books or art/cultural events.

The Name of the Journal

The journal will be known as South Asia Journal for the Study of Visual Culture.

Editorial Board of the Journal

1. Salima Hashmi, Professor and Dean, School of Visual Arts, Beaconhouse National University, Lahore.
2. Muraleedharan Tharayil, Read & Head, PG Dept. of English Literature, St. Aloysius College, affiliated to the University of Calicut, Elthuruth, Trichur, Kerala.
3. Sasanka Perera, Senior Lecturer, Department of Sociology, University of Colombo, Colombo.
4. Jagath Weerasinghe, Professor, Post Graduate Institute of Archeology, Colombo.
5. Sharon Bell, Professor and Deputy Vice Chancellor, University of Canberra, Canberra.
6. T. Shanaathanan, Senior Lecturer, Department of Fine Arts, University of Jaffna, Jaffna.
7. Pooja Sood, Director, Khoj International Artists Association and Curator, Apeejay Media Gallery, Delhi.
8. Roma Chatterji, Reader, Department of Sociology, University of Delhi, Delhi.

Contact details of the Journal
Mailing Address: 119A, Kynsey Road, Colombo 8, Sri Lanka
Email: col_institute@sltnet.lk, sasankap@slt.lk