GUINEIS Journal Special Issue Call for papers

Cities of North East India

Cities have been agglomerations of populations, vibrant economies, social networks and cultural institutions and have demonstrated continuities and changes. One of the most remarkable social phenomena of the current century is the significant concentration of population in cities and urban areas worldwide. This trend towards urbanisation has positioned cities as potential epicentres for economic competitiveness, social inclusivity, environmental sustainability and resilience, and political stability. Nevertheless, there are also significant discussions over the enduring nature of such urban spaces which encompass the ever-evolving urban structure, the marginalization and challenges faced by the poor and vulnerable populations, resource conflicts, the ecological impact of urbanization, and issues related to gender and sexual minorities. These critical debates make cities an interesting category for analysis.

Cities of Northeast India are reflective of the characteristic nature of urbanization elsewhere in South Asia where a shared history of colonialism gives way to a palpable tension between development vs. destruction on the one hand and inclusion vs. marginalization on the other. However, in the case of Northeast India, cities also earn distinctiveness from their geo-strategic locations, fluid international borders, and ecological challenges and are often caught in the doldrums of conflict between the ethnic groups and fragmented identities of the region frequently becoming the centres of political protests and demonstrations. The examination of the development of cities/urbanization, the flow of people through them, the historical layers through which they have moved, topography, proximity to rivers and hills, reasons for change are all aspects that tell stories about the entire region. How have relationships amongst human and non-human, outsiders and the indigenous evolved in them and how have cities changed to embrace them? What has been the impact of the layout and divisions of localities and neighbourhoods on cultures of living and interactions, on the practices of political cultures and on the awareness of environmental threat? What is the relationship of the cities and the rural areas that surround them? How have Northeast cities mediated between mainstream cultures from the rest of India and local cultures of the region? How have cities in the region created the dynamic space where the modern meets the traditional?

The GUINEIS Journal is inviting papers for a special issue on the theme “Cities of North East India”. We welcome submissions from all disciplinary perspectives, preferably with an interdisciplinary approach, that examine various facets of these cities, including but not limited to the following broad themes:

·       History and historiographies of cities/urban centres in Northeast India

·       Cultural diversity and heritage

·       Ecology and sustainable development

·       Gender and gender relations

·       Prosperity, equity and marginalities

·       Trade and the city: modern vs. traditional

·       Urban planning, design and architecture

·       Waste and environmental sustainability

·       Crime and violence

·       Self and the city

·       Cities and the vulnerable- the aged, the disabled, street children and the poor

Submissions may be sent to the journal’s email id guineis.journal@gauhati.ac.inwith ‘For Special issue on Cities of North East India’ featuring in the subject line of the covering letter that should be addressed to the Special Issues Editor

All details relating to submission, including word count, referencing format, and protocol for submission may be found in the front matter of GUINEIS Journal’s latest issue (Vol X), a pdf of which is available on the Gauhati University’s journals website https://journals.gauhati.ac.in/guineis. You may also refer to the guidelines mentioned below.

Guidelines for Authors

The Journal publishes articles (6000 words), a selected piece from the archive on the North East, book reviews (1500-2000 words), a review essay (3000-5000 words) and an interview/ conversation with an individual who has been closely involved as an observer or a participant of/in the region, or has a particular knowledge of North-East India that we might like to project.

All submissions should be original and previously unpublished, not be submitted to any other journal for consideration and be free of plagiarized material. Proposals for the archival piece and the interview/ conversation should be sent to the Editor at guineis.journal@gauhati.ac.in. Reviews and review essays should only be sent after a preliminary discussion with the editorial team or editor.

Style guidelines:

Authors should strictly adhere to the following guidelines while preparing the paper.

Submissions should be neatly typed in MS Word using A4 page dimensions and 1 inch margins on all sides, in Times New Roman, 12 point for font size and line spacing of 1.5. Papers should be sent as an attachment in MS Word, and be accompanied by an email to the Editor containing the title of the submission and the name and affiliation of the author/s.

The Journal follows the APA format and uses Endnotes and a list of alphabetized References containing all works cited in the paper. Notes should be kept to a minimum and used only when information or other material cannot be accommodated in the body of the paper.

The order in which all of this should appear in the paper is: Abstract (200 words), Keywords (5-6), Main body of the paper, Endnotes, References. Manual insertion of endnotes and references is preferred for ease of editing. Please note that the journal uses the form North East India, not Northeast India and northeastern when the term is an adjective, not Northeastern. All responsibility relating to the data, interpretation, observation and comments furnished in the paper/review will be with the writer(s) of the paper/review only. The piece being submitted should not carry the name of the writer or any other identifying information in its main body. All such information including the name(s) of the writer(s), designation(s), institutional affiliation(s), e-mail id(s), and mobile number (in case we need to contact urgently at the editing stage) should be given on a separate page. There are provisions for attaching black-and-white or coloured tables, graphs, diagrams, maps, and photographs in the paper (these will be reproduced in color in the pdf but the printed version will be in black and white only), but these must be free of copyright issues, or if taken from other print or online publications, be duly referenced. The Journal will not be responsible for violation of copyright by individual authors.

Timeline:

·       Deadline for submissions: October 31

·       Editorial review and preliminary decision about the next stage of reviewing:  November 15.

·       Final decisions (following peer review): January 15.

·       Revised papers to be sent back to us two weeks after a positive peer review report is received. The final revised version should be accompanied by a plagiarism report attesting that there is no more than 5% similarity.

For any queries please contact the special issue editor:

Dr Joanna Mahjebeen

Department of Political Science

Email: jmahjebeen@gauhati.ac.in