Emotions and Society

Emotions and Society aims to publish high-quality, original peer-reviewed articles which advance theoretical and empirical understanding of emotions in social life. It is associated with the European Sociological Association's (ESA) Research Network on Sociology of Emotions (RN11), but seeks submissions from a wide range of international authors writing in this area. Read more

Frequency: March, July and November

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Aims and scope
Abstract and Indexing
Testimonials
Contact us 

Aims and scope

Emotions and Society aims to publish high-quality, original peer-reviewed articles which advance theoretical and empirical understanding of emotions in social life. It is associated with the European Sociological Association's (ESA) Research Network on Sociology of Emotions (RN11), but seeks submissions from a wide range of international authors writing in this area. The sociology of emotions has developed unique perspectives on emotions that attend to their social construction and the ways in which they are embedded in social structures and inhere in social processes. The Journal seeks to expand the largely unexhausted potential for developing innovative approaches not only to emotions per se, but through them to the social generally. All methodological approaches to studying emotions are welcome, but they should demonstrate rigour and be framed in ways that will be of interest to sociologically inclined scholars.

A key feature of the Journal will be to develop both a uniquely sociological perspective on emotions, while also engaging in interdisciplinary exchanges. This interdisciplinarity will emerge not only from the character of present scholarly debates on emotions, but from the diversity of disciplines represented in the ESA Research Network. We welcome submissions from neighbouring fields, especially cultural studies, history, philosophy and social psychology. Psychology of emotions is quite well represented in existing journals and papers will be considered only insofar as their focus is interactional rather than biological. The Journal seeks to publish articles based on original research into the social aspects of emotions and emotional life. This may include contributions to theoretical debates in the area. Substantial review articles may also be considered. Principally we are looking for theoretical or theoretically informed empirical papers that engage with key concepts and debates of interest to sociologists of emotion, even if they do so from outside the discipline.
 

Abstracting and indexing

Emotions and Society is abstracted and/or indexed in:

  • Scopus
  • Emerging Sources Citation Index (ESCI)
  • European Reference Index for the Humanities and Social Sciences (ERIH PLUS)

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Testimonials

As a sociologist researching emotions and emotional strategies for social justice and feminist resistance, I appreciate the intellectual space Emotions and Society provides for theoretical and empirical discussions.

Ee Ling Sharon Quah, Senior Lecturer in Sociology at the University of Wollongong in Australia

“Emotions and Society publishes high-quality research on emotions with a unique social perspective. It will be the reference journal for the new generation of social scientists of emotions.

Eduardo Bericat, Professor of Sociology at the University of Seville, Spain

Contact us 

Editorial enquiries:

Editorial Assistant: Sian Carrington, emotionsandsociety.editorial@gmail.com

Editors in Chief: Mary Holmes, mary.holmes@ed.ac.uk and Åsa Wettergren, asa.wettergren@socav.gu.se

Open access, subscriptions and free trials:

Bristol University Press: bup-journals@bristol.ac.uk

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Read our instructions for authors for guidance on how to prepare your submissions. The instructions include the following: 

What are we looking for?
How to submit an article
Editorial review process
Copyright and permissions
Style
References
Open Access
Self-archiving and institutional repositories
English language editing service
How to maximise the impact of your article
Contact us

Visit our journal author toolkit for resources and advice to support you through the publication process and beyond.

What are we looking for?

  • Research articles:  Emotions and Society aims to publish high-quality, original peer-reviewed articles which advance theoretical and empirical understanding of emotions in social life. Principally we are looking for theoretical or theoretically informed empirical papers that engage with key concepts and debates of interest to sociologists of emotion, even if they do so from outside the discipline of sociology. Purely theoretical papers may be considered if they contribute to theoretical debates on the sociality of emotions. State-of-the-art review articles may also be considered. Articles should not be longer than 8,000 words and should not be published or considered for publication elsewhere at the time of submission.
     
  • Book reviews: The typical format of book reviews is the familiar single review in which the author reviews one chosen book. Single reviews should be between 500 and 1,500 words; the length therefore can fit how much the reviewer feels they want to say about the book. We encourage the reviewers to provide some description of the book’s key features but also to think about the questions raised by the text and the problems and issues that might be explored through a critical reading of its content. Comment on suitable audiences is also welcomed. An abstract is not required for book reviews.
     
  • Review essays: Alongside the single review, the review essay is a fairly common sight in academic journals. These usually take between two and four books and write comparatively about the content, often setting these books into the broader field. These can become highly cited pieces and are often widely read. We are looking for review essays that might be statements or benchmarks outlining important developments in any chosen field of work. Review essays will typically be between 2,000 and 3,000 words in length. The authors are encouraged to be creative, thoughtful and bold in these review essays. The pieces can also be creative in terms of the types of texts that are combined in the review (that is to say that the links between the chosen texts need not be immediately obvious). Review essays undergo the review process much like regular articles; however, an abstract is not required.

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How to submit an article

All submissions should be made online at the Emotions and Society Editorial Manager website: https://www.editorialmanager.com/emsoc/default.aspx.

Editorial Manager

Manuscripts must be in Word or Rich Text Format, not pdf. New users should first create an account, specify their areas of interest and provide full contact details.

Preparing your anonymised manuscript

Your initial submission must consist of the following separate files:

  1. A cover page including: the article title, author name(s) and affiliations (institution affiliation and country only, no department details required), the article abstract (up to 250 words), up to five key words/short phrases, and the article word count including references. A cover page template is available to download here.
  2. A fully anonymised manuscript which does not include any of the information included in the cover page. It should not include any acknowledgements, funding details or conflicts of interest that would identify the author(s). References to the author's own work should be anonymised as follows: 'Author's own, [year]'. Please note that submissions that have not been sufficiently anonymised will be returned.
  3. If you have any figures and tables these can be included in the manuscript on the first submission but must be uploaded as separate files at the end of the manuscript when submitting the final version. Please indicate where these should be placed in the text by inserting: ‘Figure X here’ and provide numbers, titles and sources where appropriate.  
  4. In order to improve our accessibility for people with visual impairments, we are now required to ask authors to provide a brief description known as alt text to describe any visual content such as photos, illustrations or figures. It will not be visible in the article but is embedded into the images so a PDF reader can read out the descriptions. Guidance on how to write this is available here: https://accessibility.huit.harvard.edu/describe-content-images.


For help submitting an article via Editorial Manager, please view our online tutorial.

Once a submission has been conditionally accepted, you will be invited to submit a final, non-anonymised version.

A cover page including:

  1. Title: short and concise running title and, if necessary, a (short) informative subtitle
  2. Author names and affiliations (institution affiliation and country only, no department details required)
  3. Abstract: no longer than 250 words, outlining the central question, approach/method, findings and take home message
  4. Up to five keywords

The main manuscript including:

  1. The non-anonymised text of your article: please ensure that the word count does not exceed the limit for your article type.
  2. Funding details: list any funding including the grant numbers you have received for the research covered in your article as follows: ‘This work was supported by the [Funding Agency] under Grant [number xxxx].’
  3. Conflict of interest statement: please declare any possible conflicts of interest, or state ‘The author(s) declare(s) that there is no conflict of interest’ if there are none.
  4. Acknowledgements: acknowledge people who have provided you with any substantial assistance or advice with collecting the data, developing your ideas, editing or any other comments to develop your argument or text.
  5. Figures and tables: should be submitted as separate files. Figures should ideally be in an Encapsulated PostScript (.eps) file format. Please indicate where figures and tables should be placed in the text by inserting: ‘Figure/Table X here’ and provide numbers, titles and sources (where appropriate).
  6. In order to improve our accessibility for people with visual impairments, we are now required to ask authors to provide a brief description known as alt text to describe any visual content such as photos, illustrations or figures. It will not be visible in the article but is embedded into the images so a PDF reader can read out the descriptions. Guidance on how to write this is available here: https://accessibility.huit.harvard.edu/describe-content-images.
  7. Supplementary data: We recommend that any supplementary data is hosted in a data repository (such as figshare) for maximum exposure, and is cited as a reference in the article.
  8. Journal Contributor Publishing Agreement: please upload a scanned copy of the completed and signed  agreement with your final non-anonymised manuscript. The Journal Contributor Publishing Agreement can be downloaded here.

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Editorial review process

All submissions are first desk-reviewed by the Editors who will assess whether the manuscript fits the aims and scope as well as the quality standards of Emotions and Society. Papers that are selected to be sent out for review will be evaluated through double anonymous peer review by at least two referees. Emotions and Society aims to return referee reviews along with an initial decision within four weeks.

Please also read our Journals Editorial Policies and Ethical Guidelines.

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Copyright and permissions

Emotions and Society is published by Bristol University Press. Articles are considered for publication on the understanding that on acceptance the author(s) grant(s) Bristol University Press the exclusive right and licence to publish the article. Copyright remains with the author(s) or other original copyright owners and we will acknowledge this in the copyright line that appears on the published article.

Authors will be asked to sign a journal contributor agreement to this effect, which should be submitted online along with the final manuscript. All authors should agree to the agreement. For jointly authored articles the corresponding author may sign on behalf of co-authors provided that they have obtained the co-authors' consent. The journal contributor agreement can be downloaded here.

Where copyright is not owned by the author(s), the corresponding author is responsible for obtaining the consent of the copyright holder. This includes figures, tables and excerpts. Evidence of this permission should be provided to Bristol University Press. General information on rights and permissions can be found here.

To request permission to reproduce any part of articles published in the Emotions and Society, please email Bristol University Press: bup-info@bristol.ac.uk. For information on what is permissible use for different versions of your article please see our policy on self archiving and institutional repositories.

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Style

  • British English spelling and punctuation is preferred.
  • Non-discriminatory language is mandatory.
  • Footnotes should be kept to a minimum. If it is necessary to use them, they must be numbered consecutively in the text.
  • The final submitted file should be clear of track changes and ready for print.

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References

Download the Endnote output style for Policy Press and Bristol University Press journals. 

Bristol University Press uses a custom version of the Harvard system of referencing:

  • In-text citations: give the author’s surname followed by year of publication in brackets.
  • List all references in full at the end of the article and remove any references not cited in the text.
  • Book and journal titles should be in italics.
  • Website details should be placed at the end of the reference.
  • Spell out all acronyms in the first instance.

Example of book reference:
Dorling, D. (2010) Injustice: Why social inequality persists, Bristol: Policy Press.

Example of journal reference:
Warin, P. (2012) 'Non-demand for Social Rights: A new challenge for social action in France', Journal of Poverty and Social Justice, 20(1): 41-53.

Example of chapter within edited / multi-authored publication:
Levitas, R. (2011) 'Utopia Calling: Eradicating child poverty in the United Kingdom and beyond', in A. Minujin and S. Nandy (eds), Global Child Poverty and Well-being: Measurement, concepts, policy and action, Bristol, Policy Press. pp. 449-73.

Example of website reference:
Womensaid (2016) What is domestic abuse? https://www.womensaid.org.uk/information-support/what-is-domestic-abuse/.

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Editorial Management Board

Mary Holmes, Editor in Chief, University of Edinburgh, UK
Åsa Wettergren, Editor in Chief, Gothenburg University, Sweden
Nathan Manning, Co-Editor, University of Adelaide, Australia
Maja Sawicka, Book Reviews Editor, Warsaw University, Poland
Stina Bergman BlixChair of Board, Uppsala University, Sweden

Julie Brownlie, University of Edinburgh, UK
Ian Burkitt, University of Bradford, UK
Jessica L. Collett, University of California, Los Angeles, USA
Nicholas Demertzis, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Greece
Jonathan Heaney, Queens University, Belfast, Northern Ireland
Quah Ee Ling, Western Sydney University, Australia
Adrian Scribano, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Argentina 
Lisa Slattery Walker, University of North Carolina, USA

Editorial Advisory Board

Erik Andersson, University of Gothenburg, Sweden
Susan Bandes, DePaul College of Law, USA
Jack Barbalet, Australian Catholic University, Australia
Ashley Barnwell, The University of Melbourne, Australia
Tova Benski, The College of Management Academic Studies, Israel
Mabel Berezin, Cornell University, USA
Natàlia Cantó Milà, Universitat Oberta de Catalunya, Spain
Carl Cassegård, University of Gothenburg, Sweden
Jody Clay-Warner, University of Georgia, USA
Helena Flam, Leipzig University, Germany
Ute Frevert, Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Germany
Benno Gammerl, Goldsmiths / Max Planck Institute for Human Development, UK / Germany
Deborah Gould, University of California - Santa Cruz, USA
Arlie Hochschild, University of California - Berkeley, USA
Eva Illouz, École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales, France
Kerstin Jacobsson, University of Gothenburg, Sweden
Jack Katz, University of California Los Angeles, USA
Nichola Khan, University of Brighton, UK
Debra King, Flinders University, Australia
Jordan McKenzie, University of Wollongong, Australia
Rebecca Olson, University of Queensland, Australia
Roger Patulny, University of Wollongong, Australia
Mikko Salmela, University of Helsinki, Finland
Adrián Scribano, CIECS CONICET UNC/ UBA /CIES, Argentina
Monique Scheer, Universität Tübingen, Germany
Barbara Sieben, Helmut Schmidt Universität, Universität der Bundeswehr Hamburg, Germany
Peter Stearns, George Mason University, USA
Christian von Scheve, Freie Universität Berlin, Germany 
Guobin Yang, University of Pennsylvania, USA

Call for Special Issue/Themed Section Proposals for Emotions and Society

Deadline for proposals: 29 May, 2023 (for November 2024 issue)

Potential special issue editors are requested to send a short proposal (no more than 1500 words) describing the following:

  • scope of the proposed theme;
  • the (potential) papers that it would contain;
  • an approximate timetable
  • Short (100-150 word) biography of proposed editors.

It should be clear how the theme of the proposed special issue fits with the aims and scope of Emotions and Society (https://bristoluniversitypress.co.uk/journals/emotions-and-society/about).

Proposals based on past events/workshops are welcome. For proposed special issues, an open call for papers will be made as part of the process of sourcing papers.

We are looking for a strong analytical and theoretical coherence to the issue or section. All papers will be subject to the normal double anonymous peer review process. For further information please see Emotions and Society.  

Proposals should be sent electronically to the Emotions and Society. Send to: mary.holmes@ed.ac.uk and/or asa.wettergren@socav.gu.se.

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