2024-05-072024-05-07https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14394/53811<p>Edge was founded in spring 2008 with the intention to provide an opportunity for graduate students to gain professional experience in publication as book or film reviewers, referees, editors and authors. After several discussions with the ScholarWorks team at the W.E.B. DuBois Library at the University of Massachusetts Amherst and faculty and graduate students in the German and Scandinavian Studies program at UMass, Edge was established as an online, open-access journal. The graduate students involved in the creation of Edge include Delene Case White (founding Editor-in-Chief), Maureen Gallagher (founding Managing Editor), Victoria Lenshyn (founding Film and Book Review Editor), Diane Liu, Rachael Salyer, Juliette Brungs, Ute Bettray, Evan Torner, Tim Dail, Kyle Frackman, Laurie Taylor and Allie Merley Hill.</p><h3>Aims</h3> <p>Edge is written, edited, managed and reviewed by graduate students. All authors retain ownership of their work published on Edge.</p> <p>Opportunity. Edge was founded to create more opportunities for scholarly publishing and professional development for graduate students engaging in German and Scandinavian Studies.</p> <p>Open Access. Edge strives to make the best scholarly work by graduate students in German and Scandinavian Studies accessible and available to an unlimited audience.</p> <p>On the Cutting Edge. Edge seeks out and publishes research that utilizes the latest methodologies and content in the field of German and Scandinavian Studies. In particular, the journal emphasizes research culled from both the unexplored edges of the discipline, and from the edges where fields such as literature, philology, cultural studies, history, film and media studies overlap.</p> <h3>Scope</h3> <p>Edge welcomes scholarly articles regarding philology, cultural studies, literature, comparative literature, and history of Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Greenland, Iceland, and Denmark. The journal has no restrictions regarding time periods, unless stated in a particular call for papers.</p><h2>Final Manuscript Preparation Guidelines for <em><macro publication.title></em></h2> <div id="styleguide"> <p>This document provides details on typesetting and layout requirements pertaining to final manuscript submission to <em><macro ir_journal.title encode='html'></em>.</p> <h3>Formatting Requirements</h3> <ul> <li>Do not include a title page or abstract. (Begin the document with the introduction; a title page, including the abstract, will be added to your paper by the editors.)</li> <li>Do not include page numbers, headers, or footers. These will be added by the editors.</li> <li>Submit your manuscript, including tables, figures, appendices, etc., as a single file (Word, <magic if test="my.AUTO_CONVERT_WORDPERFECT_FILE">WordPerfect, </magic><acronym title="Rich Text Format">RTF</acronym>, or <acronym title="Portable Document Format">PDF</acronym> files are accepted).</li> <li>Page size should be 8.5 x 11-inches.</li> <li>All margins (left, right, top and bottom) should be 1.5 inches (3.8 cm), including your tables and figures.</li> <li>Single space your text.</li> <li>Use one space after periods.</li> <li>Use a single column layout with both left and right margins justified.</li> <li>Font: <ol><li>Main Body&amp;#8212;12 pt. Times or the closest comparable font available</li> <li>Footnotes&amp;#8212;10 pt. Times or the closest comparable font available</li> </ol> </li> <li>If figures are included, use high-resolution figures, preferably encoded as encapsulated PostScript (eps).</li> <li>Copyedit your manuscript.</li> <li>When possible, there should be no pages where more than a quarter of the page is empty space.</li> </ul> <h3>Additional Recommendations</h3> <h4>Indenting, Line Spacing, and Justification</h4> <p><strong>Indent all paragraphs except those following a section heading.</strong> An indent should be at least 2 em-spaces.</p> <p>Do not insert extra space between paragraphs of text with the exception of long quotations, theorems, propositions, special remarks, etc. These should be set off from the surrounding text by additional space above and below. </p> <p>Don't "widow" or "orphan" text (i.e., ending a page with the first line of a paragraph or beginning a page with the last line of a paragraph).</p> <p>All text should be <strong>left-justified</strong> (i.e., flush with the left margin&amp;#8212;except where indented). Where possible, it should also be right-justified (i.e., flush with the right margin). "Where possible" refers to the quality of the justification. For example, <a href="http://www.latex-project.org" title="LaTeX project: LaTeX &amp;ndash; A document preparation system">LaTeX</a> and <a href="http://www.tug.org/" title="TeX Users Group (TUG) home page">TeX</a> do an excellent job of justifying text. Word does a reasonable job. But some word processors do a lousy job (e.g., they achieve right justification by inserting too much white space within and between words). We prefer flush right margins. However, it is better to have jagged right margins than to have flush right margins with awkward intra- and inter-word spacing. Make your decision on whichever looks best. </p> <h4>Language &amp;amp; Grammar</h4> <p>Submissions are accepted in either English or German. When writing in either language, please use the accepted, standard rules for spelling, punctuation and grammar.</p> <p><em>The Elements of Style</em> by William Strunk, Jr. and E. B. White (now in its fourth edition) is the "standard" guide for English grammer and style, but other excellent guides (e.g., <em>The Chicago Manual of Style</em>, University of Chicago Press) exist as well.</p> <h4>Article Length</h4> <p>Because this journal publishes electronically, page limits are not as relevant as they are in the world of print publications. We are happy, therefore, to let authors take advantage of this greater "bandwidth" to include material that they might otherwise have to cut to get into a print journal. This said, authors should exercise some discretion with respect to length.</p> <h4>Colored text</h4> <p>Set the <strong>font color to black</strong> for the majority of the text. We encourage authors to take advantage of the ability to use color in the production of figures, maps, etc., however, you need to appreciate that this will cause some of your readers problems when they print the document on a black &amp;amp; white printer. For this reason, you are advised to avoid the use of colors in situations where their translation to black and white would render the material illegible or incomprehensible.</p> <p>Please ensure that there are no colored mark-ups or comments in the final version, unless they are meant to be part of the final text. (You may need to "accept all changes" in track changes or set your document to "normal" in final markup.) </p> <h4>Emphasized text</h4> <p>Whenever possible use <em>italics</em> to indicate text you wish to emphasize rather than underlining it. The use of color to emphasize text is discouraged.</p> <h4>Font faces</h4><p>Except, possibly, where special symbols are needed, use Times or the closest comparable font available. If you desire a second font, for instance for headings, use a sans serif font (e.g., Arial or Computer Modern Sans Serif). </p> <h4>Font size</h4> <p>The main body of text should be set in 12pt. Avoid the use of fonts smaller than 6pt.</p> <h4>Foreign terms</h4> <p>Whenever possible, foreign terms should be set in <em>italics</em> rather than underlined.</p> <h4>Headings</h4> <p><strong>Headings</strong> (e.g., start of sections) should be distinguished from the main body text by their fonts or by using small caps. Use the same font face for all headings and indicate the hierarchy by reducing the font size. There should be space above and below headings.</p> <h4>Main text </h4> <p>The font for the <strong>main body</strong> of text must be black and, if at all possible, in Times or closest comparable font available. </p> <h4>Titles</h4> <p>Whenever possible, <strong>titles of books, movies, etc.</strong>, should be set in <em>italics</em> rather than underlined.</p> <h4>Footnotes</h4> <p><strong>Footnotes</strong> should appear at the bottom of the page on which they are referenced rather than at the end of the paper. Footnotes should be in 10 pt. Times or closest comparable font available, they should be single spaced, and there should be a footnote separator rule (line). Footnote numbers or symbols in the text must follow, rather than precede, punctuation. Excessively long footnotes are probably better handled in an appendix. All footnotes should be left and right-justified (i.e., flush with the right margin), unless this creates awkward spacing.</p> <h4>Tables and Figures</h4> <p>To the extent possible, <strong>tables and figures</strong> should appear in the document near where they are referenced in the text. Large tables or figures should be put on pages by themselves. Avoid the use of overly small type in tables. In no case should tables or figures be in a separate document or file. All tables and figures must fit within 1.5" margins on all sides (top, bottom, left and right) in both portrait and landscape view.</p> <h2 id="bibliography">References</h2> <p>It is the author's obligation to provide complete references with the necessary information. <em>Edge</em> uses MLA citation style; Please visit the OWL at Purdue for an excellent introduction to MLA style, including compiling the works cited list, in text citation and formatting quotations: <a href="http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/557/02/">http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/557/02</a>.</p> <h4>Articles in scholarly journals:</h4> <p>Author(s). "Title of Article." <em>Title of Journal</em> Volume.Issue (Year): pages.</p> <h4>Books:</h4> <p>Lastname, Firstname. <em>Title of Book</em>. Place of Publication: Publisher, Year of Publication.</p> <h4>Chapters in collections or anthologies:</h4> <p>Lastname, First name. "Title of Essay." <em>Title of Collection</em>. Ed. Editor's Name(s). Place of Publication: Publisher, Year. Pages.</p> <h4>Other works:</h4> <p>Please visit the OWL at Purdue for more examples of MLA citation style: <a href="http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/557/06/">http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/557/06</a>.</p> </div>Edge is a peer-reviewed, open access, interdisciplinary graduate journal for German and Scandinavian Studies. The journal is published annually under the direction of graduate students in the German and Scandinavian Studies program at the University of Massachusetts Amherst with the support of the W.E.B. DuBois Library. Edge showcases the best new scholarly articles in German and Scandinavian Studies by graduate students, as well as reviews of films and the latest books of interest in the field. We welcome submissions from all disciplines with a connection to German and Scandinavian Studies, including but not limited to comparative literature, cultural studies, history, film and media studies and philology. Each issue is written, refereed, and edited by graduate students. If you are interested in serving as a reviewer, please . Call for Papers: We accept submissions of scholarly articles as well as book and film reviews on a rolling basis, and current submissions will be considered for publication in our 2015 issue. For more detailed submission and formatting guidelines, please see our Call for Papers. We do not currently have any titles available for review. Please check back soon!Contents Call for Papers Philosophy of Who Can Submit? General Submission Rules Book and Film Review Guidelines Guidelines for Peer Reviewers Formatting Requirements General Terms and Conditions of Use Call for Papers is currently accepting submissions for its 2015 edition. We are seeking original scholarly research as well as book and film reviews written by graduate students especially from the United States and Germany. We welcome article submissions from all disciplines with a connection to German and Scandinavian Studies, including but not limited to comparative literature, cultural studies, history, film and media studies and philology. We accept submissions in either English or German. Accepted papers should be between 5000 and 8000 words in length, not including notes and bibliography. Please upload your manuscript as a .doc or .docx file. Paper submissions must follow recent MLA guidelines and should be prepared so that the referees can read it anonymously. Citations have to be quoted with parenthetical references (for papers). Book reviews should use bibliographical footnotes according to the Chicao Manual of Style, but otherwise follow MLA standard. The deadline to be considered for the next publication is May 10, 2015. If you are interested in reviewing a recent publication in the field of German Studies and Scandinavian Studies, please and include a copy of your CV. If you are an advanced graduate student or new professional (5 years or less in the field) and are interested in serving as a peer reviewer of articles, please please and email a copy of your CV and a list of your research specialties to the editors. { top } Philosophy of For more information, please see Aims and Scope page. Who Can Submit? Anyone may submit an original article to be considered for publication in provided he or she owns the copyright to the work that is being submitted or is authorized by the copyright owner or owners to submit the article. Authors are the initial owners of the copyrights to their works (an exception in the non-academic world to this might exist if the authors have, as a condition of employment, agreed to transfer copyright to their employer). { top } General Submission Rules We accept submissions in either English or German. Accepted papers should be between 5000 and 8000 words in length, not including notes and bibliography. Please upload your manuscript as a .doc or .docx file. Submissions must follow all most recent MLA guidelines and should be prepared so that the referees can read it anonymously. Citations have to be quoted with parenthetical references (for papers) according to MLA style. Book reviews should use bibliographical footnotes according to the Chicao Manual of Style, but otherwise follow MLA standard. Submitted articles cannot have been previously published, nor be forthcoming in an archival journal or book (print or electronic). Please note: &quot;publication&quot; in a working-paper series does not constitute prior publication. In addition, by submitting material to , the author is stipulating that the material is not currently under review at another journal (electronic or print) and that he or she will not submit the material to another journal (electronic or print) until the completion of the editorial decision process at . If you have concerns about the submission terms for , please please { top } Book and Film Review Guidelines We publish reviews of both creative and scholarly books and films that have been recently published and which are related to the field of German and Scandinavian Studies. We regularly send out lists of books and films which are available for review, but you are welcome to contact the editors if there is another work which you would be interested in reviewing. In your review, please consider the following points: Though it is not necessary to give a detailed plot summary, a critical review of a book or film should introduce readers to the author’s argument, plot, and content. Reviewers should consider the book or film’s strengths and weaknesses, state the author or producer's intentions, and offer an analysis of the content and the method for developing the argument, as well as evidence for this analysis. The review should evaluate the book or film on its quality, meaning and significance to the broader field of German and Scandinavian Studies. Book and film reviews should be in English, typed, 2-3 pages long, and single spaced in 12 pt. Times New Roman font. All reviews should follow current MLA formatting guidelines and should include the reviewer’s name and professional affiliation. Bibliographical footnotes should follow the Chicago Manual of Style. Please include the following information in the heading of the review: title, author or director's name, publication information (publishing company, city and year), price, format (e.g. softcover, hardcover, DVD) and ISBN. { top } Guidelines for Peer Reviewers We use a double-blind peer review process, and your review should therefore not contain any references that might reveal your identity. Please keep in mind that your review will be viewed by the author exactly as you submit it, and that the goal of the review process is to provide constructive and helpful feedback to your peers. The following suggestions, which have been adapted from the Dartmouth College Peer Review guidelines, are designed to help you in your evaluation: Introduction and Thesis Has the writer put forth an interesting intellectual problem or question that will require a complex, thoughtful answer? Is there an original argument that goes beyond personal feelings or simple statements of fact? Does the problem seem impossibly broad or narrow? If so, how might the writer narrow or broaden the topic so that it is more appropriate or manageable? Do you as a reader care about this question? Is there a way that the writer might get a more interesting "take" on the topic or otherwise better engage the reader? Can you clearly pinpoint the thesis statement, and does it use clear, vivid language? Does the introductory paragraph define all terms important to understanding the thesis statement? Does the introductory paragraph define all terms important to understanding the thesis statement? Does the introduction appropriately place the thesis or question within the larger, ongoing scholarly discussion about the topic? Structure Does the organization of the article make sense and does it flow clearly? What works well and are there any points where it is difficult to follow the author’s the argument? Are all of the main points relevant to the thesis? If not, should the writer omit the irrelevant points, or should the writer rewrite the thesis to accommodate these ideas? Is there sufficient support for each point of the argument? Are you convinced by the author or can you identify weakness or gaps in the logical development of the argument? Does the writer acknowledge other points of view about the topic? If not, how and where might the writer do so? Do you have recommendations of additional relevant sources that the author may wish to consider? Is there an appropriate balance between supporting evidence and analysis of that evidence? Is the paper structured in such a way that it is easy for the reader to distinguish these two aspects? Does the author seem at times to “stretch” their evidence too far, and if so, is there a way to persuade the reader that this stretch is worth making? Style Does each paragraph limit itself to a single argument point which is logically developed? If not, is the writer justified in bending this principle? Are the topic sentences clear and interesting? Do they relate directly to the main argument as well as the point of the paragraph? If not, how might they be improved? Are the transitions between paragraphs and ideas easy to follow? Are the sentences clearly written and grammatically correct? Are there any passages where the wording is unclear or more detail could be added? Is the article understandable both to specialists on the topic as well as to scholars in the broader field of German and Scandinavian Studies? Final Recommendation You are asked to recommend that the article either be rejected, be accepted for publication with minor revisions, or be accepted for publication with major revisions. The editorial team makes every effort to filter out articles for rejection before sending them out for peer review, but it is possible that a reviewer who is a specialist on the topic of the article may recognize major problems which would not immediately be apparent to a more general audience. Reasons for rejection include lack of an original argument or thesis, lack of evidence or evidence that does not support the thesis, failure to engage with prior scholarly work on the topic or plagiarism. Recommending minor revisions means that the article makes a strong and original argument that only needs to be polished slightly before it is ready for publication. Examples of minor revisions include formatting or grammatical suggestions, occasional unclear wording, passages that could be expanded to include more detail, or recommendations of additional secondary literature that could strengthen the author’s argument. Recommending major revisions means that the argument contains an interesting argument which has the potential to contribute to the field of German and Scandinavian Studies once the structure and/or content of the article has been reworked. Examples include omission of key scholarly sources on the topic, side arguments that distract from the author’s main thesis, or an unclear flow of ideas. { top } Formatting Requirements has no general rules about the formatting of articles upon initial submission. There are, however, rules governing the formatting of the final submission. See Final Manuscript Preparation Guidelines for details. Although can provide limited technical support, it is ultimately the responsibility of the author to produce an electronic version of the article as a high-quality PDF (Adobe's Portable Document Format) file, or a Microsoft Word, WordPerfect or RTF file that can be converted to a PDF file. It is understood that the current state of technology of Adobe's Portable Document Format (PDF) is such that there are no, and can be no, guarantees that documents in PDF will work perfectly with all possible hardware and software configurations that readers may have. { top } General Terms and Conditions of Use Reproduction, posting, transmission or other distribution or use of the article or any material therein, in any medium, requires appropriate citation to as the publisher of record. People who have questions about use, should contact the editors. Users of the and website and/or software agree not to misuse the service or software in any way. The failure of to exercise or enforce any right or provision in the policies or the Non-Exclusive License Submission Agreement does not constitute a waiver of such right or provision. If any term of the Non-Exclusive License Submission Agreement or these policies is found to be invalid, the parties nevertheless agree that the court should endeavor to give effect to the parties' intentions as reflected in the provision, and the other provisions of the Non-Exclusive License Submission Agreement and these policies remain in full force and effect. These policies and the Non-Exclusive License Submission Agreement constitute the entire agreement between and the Author(s) regarding submission of the Article. { top }