Australian Feminist Studies launches innovative mentoring scheme for new academic writers

Wednesday, 3 June 2015

Faculty of Education and Arts scholars Professor Lisa Adkins and Associate Professor Maryanne Dever were recently appointed editors-in-chief of the journal Australian Feminist Studies.

Australian Feminist Studies journal launches mentoring scheme

Launched in 1985, Australian Feminist Studies across the subsequent three decades has become a key forum for transformative feminist ideas and analyses, nationally and internationally. It has published leading voices in feminist theory and research and contributes to setting the terms of interdisciplinary feminist debate.

Since their appointment as editors-in-chief, Adkins and Dever have launched an innovative mentoring scheme for new academic writers which will have immediate benefits for UON graduate students and early career academics. Australian Feminist Studies is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year and the new editors believe this is a good time to reflect on how the journal engages with a new generation of emerging authors.

The editors, both internationally recognised researchers with extensive mentoring records, will be inviting a small number of aspiring academic authors to work with them in developing their research for publication in the peer-reviewed journal. One spot in the program is being reserved for an advanced level PhD candidate or early career academic from UON.

"Our publishers Routledge/Taylor & Francis are very enthusiastic about this initiative," said Associate Professor Dever. "They've told us that mentoring of young researchers is currently a hot topic across their editorial teams and they're delighted we are pushing ahead with this and believe it may become a model for other journals."

The editors want to assist new researchers in understanding the difference between a really solid manuscript and a compelling one that makes a genuine intervention in debate. They also want to highlight how quality writing is essential for communicating quality ideas.

The online publishing environment is adding further considerations for new authors. "Not everyone recognises how important search engine friendly titles, abstracts and keywords have become," said Professor Adkins. "We'll be stressing how critical these are in an environment where download metrics and retweets are reshaping how our research is shared and how its impact is measured."

Deadline for application to the mentoring program is 30 June 2015. Find out more information on eligibility and the application process here.

Contact

  • Lisa.Adkins@newcastle.edu.au

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