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About the Journal

Focus and Scope

The languages, cultures and histories of Ireland and Scotland are deeply entwined with each other. From the sister tongues of Scots Gaelic and Irish, to recent political debates concerning independence from, devolution in, and union with Britain, the countries have developed both in dialogue and in competition with each other. They have also contributed to international movements, from the Enlightenment and Romanticism to labour movements and cultural nationalism. Both societies have also germinated a global diaspora. The Journal of Irish and Scottish Studies seeks to publish high level, disciplinary, interdisciplinary and comparative studies in this field of enquiry.

The Journal of Irish and Scottish Studies is the only peer reviewed journal devoted to scholarly work in the languages, history, literatures and cultures of these countries. It seeks to promote understanding of the interlocking and comparative experience of the peoples of Ireland, Northern Ireland and Scotland and well as examining their global reach and influence.

The editorial board welcomes submissions of high quality, original articles that fit with the Journal’s remit. These should be between 5,000 and 10,000 words in length and involve any aspect of Irish, Scottish, or Irish-Scottish history or cultural expression.

Publication Frequency

The journal is published online as a single volume, with two issues released each year.

Special collections of articles are welcomed and will be published as part of the normal issue, but also within a separate collection page.

Open Access Policy

This journal provides fully open access to all its materials out of the belief that making research freely available facilitates future research, informs public debate and enhances cultural engagement and understanding, while also decreasing global inequities in scholarly publishing. 

While copyright is retained by the authors, everyone has the right to use, reproduce, and share the article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) license. 

Archiving & Indexing

Aberdeen University Press content is assigned a Digital Object Identifier (DOI), a permanent point of access allowing citations to be tracked and measured. Materials will be sent to established indexers and databases. Journals will be registered with CLOCKSS to ensure that published content is preserved.  

Journal History

The Journal of Irish and Scottish Studies was launched in 2007 under the general editorship of Professor Cairns Craig. First issued under the imprint of the Research Institute of Irish and Scottish Studies, where it is still housed, it moved over to Aberdeen University Press in 2013. Throughout it has sought to support the publication of high-quality scholarly research into the history, literature and culture of the Irish and Scots, domestically and globally. 

Annotation 

The journal platform includes in-browser annotation and text highlighting options on full text formats via hypothes.is. Readers will have the option to make these publicly available, available to a group, or private.

The journal does not normally display advertisements. However, the editorial board may decide to display any that are of relevance to its remit and perhaps of interest to the readership (e.g. upcoming conferences). All advertising space is provided free of charge and the editor and publisher have the right to decline or withdraw adverts at any point. Adverts will include a text heading to make it clear that they are adverts not related to the journal.