Submission Guidelines for U-Talk Peer-Reviewed Issue

  1. Scope of the Special Issue

The U-Talk Peer-Reviewed Special Issue publishes original research and critical essays engaging with contemporary questions in society, culture, religion, literature, media, and civilizational dialogue.

The issue aims to create a platform where academic scholarship and public intellectual engagement meet.

Submissions may include:

  • Research articles
  • Critical essays
  • Field reflections
  • Review essays

All submissions must be original and unpublished.

 

  1. Peer-Review Process

All research submissions undergo a double-blind peer-review process.

Process:

  1. Initial screening by the editorial team.
  2. Suitable manuscripts are sent to two anonymous reviewers.
  3. Reviewers evaluate the manuscript for:
    • originality
    • methodological clarity
    • scholarly contribution
    • clarity of argument
  4. Based on the reviewers’ reports, the editorial board may decide:
  • Accept
  • Accept with minor revisions
  • Revise and resubmit
  • Reject

The editorial team communicates anonymized reviewer feedback to authors.

 

  1. Submission Categories

Research Articles

  • 5,000–8,000 words
  • Must include references and citations.

Short Scholarly Essays

  • 2,500–4,000 words

Review Essays / Book Reviews

  • 1,000–2,000 words

Word limits include footnotes but exclude bibliography.

 

  1. Formatting Guidelines

Submissions must follow the Chicago Manual of Style.

Formatting requirements:

  • Font: Times New Roman
  • Size: 12
  • Line spacing: 1.5
  • Footnotes should follow Chicago style
  • Include a bibliography at the end

Manuscripts should be submitted in Word format (.doc or .docx).


  1.  Anonymization Requirement

For double-blind review:

Authors must remove all identifying information from the manuscript.

A separate cover page should include:

  • Author name
  • Institutional affiliation
  • Email address
  • 100-word author biography

 

  1. Plagiarism Policy

All submissions are checked for originality.

Manuscripts with significant plagiarism or unethical use of sources will be rejected.

Authors are responsible for ensuring that their work is original and properly cited.

 

  1. Editorial Ethics

The editorial team commits to:

  • fair and impartial review
  • confidentiality of submissions
  • academic integrity

Reviewers must disclose conflicts of interest and maintain confidentiality.

 

  1. Publication Schedule

For the Special Peer-Reviewed Issue, the editorial timeline typically includes:

  • Call for Papers announcement
  • Submission deadline
  • Peer-review period
  • Revision period
  • Final publication

The special issue is published annually.

 

  1. Author Rights

Authors retain copyright of their work while granting U-Talk the right to publish the article in the special issue.

 

  1. Submission Address

Manuscripts should be sent to:

uara@umran.org.in

with the subject line:

“Submission – U-Talk Peer-Reviewed Special Issue”