Configurations

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Configurations is the journal of the Society for Literature, Science, and the Arts (SLSA), which fosters the multidisciplinary study of the relations among literature and language, the arts, science, medicine, and technology. The journal solicits articles on all aspects of the problems of science and representation, and the cultural and social dimensions of science, technology, and medicine. It is multidisciplinary in scope: the history, sociology, anthropology, rhetoric, and philosophy of science, technology, and medicine; literary history and criticism; art history and media studies; the cognitive sciences; and all areas of science, technology, engineering, and medicine. To be considered, works should be readable by a broad audience, including informed researchers, practitioners, artists, scholars, and students outside the particular discipline. Configurations is published by the Johns Hopkins University Press.

Submission

Original manuscripts should be submitted electronically to co-editors Melissa Littlefield and Rajani Sudan at configurations@smu.edu. The average length of articles is 10,000 words (1000-1500 for book reviews), though this can vary widely according to discipline. Manuscripts should be double-spaced throughout and be accompanied by an abstract of approximately 100 words and a brief list of keywords. All manuscripts are edited according to The Chicago Manual of Style, 16th ed. (University of Chicago Press).

Please submit your file in one of the following formats: MS Word (.doc) or Rich Text Format (.rtf). Tables and illustrations will be accepted when necessary for the presentation of ideas; tables must be submitted as separate pdf files, and illustrations as digital images (high-resolution .jpeg, .tiff, or .eps files).

Book reviews are usually solicited, but proposals for reviews may be sent to  Jay Labinger, Book Review Editor, Configurations (jal@caltech.edu). 

Special Issue Submission Guidelines

Please send queries concerning special issues to the editors at configurations@smu.edu. In your email, please include:

• a succinct description of the problems that the special issue is meant to investigate (250-500 words)
• brief bios of the editor(s) for the issue (100 words each)
• a brief list of possible authors
• a set of abstracts, if at all possible

Style and Formatting

All headings and endnotes should be in accordance with The Chicago Manual of Style (CMS) . Use no more than two levels of headings (A and B levels). Endnotes are numbered in text by superscripts. Text to appear in italics should be in roman type, underlined, in the manuscript.

Book references should include author(s), [chapter title], book title, [edition], [editors], place of publication, publisher, year, and inclusive page numbers (of citation):

1. Donna Haraway, The Companion Species Manifesto: Dogs, People and Significant Otherness (Chicago: Prickly Paradigm Press, 2003), pp. 122–143.
2. Eric Monteiro and Ole Hanseth, “Social Shaping of Information Infrastructure: On Being Specific About the Technology,” in Information Technology and Changes in Organizational Work, 2nd ed., eds. W. J. Orlikowski, G. Walsham, M. R. Jones, and J. I. DeGross (London: Chapman & Hall, 1995), pp. 325–343.

All subsequent citations (for both books and journals) should use only the author(s)’ surname(s) and short title (see CMS 16.44–45), along with the endnote number of its first, full citation:

3. Haraway, Companion Species Manifesto (above, n. 1), p. 125.
4. Monteiro and Hanseth, “Social Shaping” (above, n. 2), pp. 327–331.

Journal references should include author(s), article title, journal title, volume no., issue no., year, and inclusive page numbers:

5. Casper Bruun Jensen, “A Non-Humanist Disposition: On Performativity, Practical Ontology, and Intervention,” Configurations 12:2 (2004): 229–261.

Newspaper references should include author(s), headline, name of newspaper, and date (but not section and page numbers; see CMS 17.188. For newspapers published on the Internet, adding a URL will show that an online edition was consulted):

6. Eugene Theodore, “It’s Been a Tough Eight Years,” Windsor Herald, October 18, 2008.

Internet references should provide full URL (though no access date; see CMS 17.12):

7. Office of Research on Minority Health (ORMH) history. 2000.

Personal communications (conversations, letters, e-mail messages, and the like) are cited as endnotes:

8. Hugh Crawford, e-mail message to author, October 5, 2008.

For quoted text citations with italicized material, state in endnotes the source of emphasis:

9. Sande Cohen, “Reading Science Studies Writing,” in The Science Studies Reader, ed. Mario Biagioli (New York: Routledge, 1999), pp. 84–95 (emphasis in original).
10. Bruno Latour, “Why Has Critique Run Out of Steam? From Matters of Fact to Matters of Concern,” Critical Inquiry 30:2 (2004): 225–248 (emphasis added

For all other Configurations style and formatting questions, please refer to The Chicago Manual of Style, 16th ed.

The Hopkins Press Journals Ethics and Malpractice Statement can be found at the ethics-and-malpractice page.

Peer Review Policy

Configurations accepts original research submissions on topics that bring together the humanities, sciences, and social sciences. Submissions must be non-simultaneous and any conflict(s) of interest should be disclosed. Preliminary review for fit and strength of argument is conducted in-house by at least one of the Co-Editors. Peer review is a double blind process in which we ask reviewers to 1) assess to relevance of the manuscript’s topic to our readership; 2) assess the strength of the manuscript’s arguments, organization, and the quality of its research. Papers are graded on a scale that includes the following designations: accept, accept with minor revisions, revise and resubmit, reject but encourage submission of a reworked manuscript, or reject. If revision is requested, we perform an in-house evaluation of the revised manuscript before deciding which (if any) of the original reviewers will be asked to read and evaluate the new version of the paper. Our current timeline for review is 4-6 months. We also encourage the submission of special issue proposals and our Book Review Editor solicits copies of recently published books for review.

Editors of Configurations

Melissa M. Littlefield, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign 
Rajani Sudan, Southern Methodist University

Book Review Editor

Jay Labinger, California Institute of Technology

Editorial Assistants

Matthew Adamson, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign 
Kelly Evans, Southern Methodist University

Past Editors

Ronald Schleifer, University of Oklahoma 
Robert Markley, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign 
Alan Rauch, University of North Carolina at Charlotte 
Hugh Crawford, Georgia Institute of Technology 
Kenneth J. Knoespel, Georgia Institute of Technology 
James Bono, SUNY/Buffalo

Manuscript Editor

Hank Southgate

Board of Advisors

Stacy Alaimo, University of Texas, Arlington 
Charles Bazerman, University of California, Santa Barbara 
Ian Bogost, Georgia Institute of Technology 
Joyce Chaplin, Harvard University 
Bruce Clarke, Texas Tech University 
Carol Colatrella, Georgia Institute of Technology 
Lucinda Cole, University of Southern Maine 
Martin Danahay, Brock University 
Tore Frängsmyr, University of Uppsala, Sweden 
Mark Greenberg, Drexel University 
Richard Grusin, Wayne State University 
Donna Haraway, University of California, Santa Cruz 
Sandra Harding, University of Delaware and UCLA 
David Harpp, McGill University 
N. Katherine Hayles, Duke University 
Timothy Lenoir, Stanford University 
Robert Markley, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign 
Deidre McCloskey, University of Illinois, Chicago 
Rob Mitchell, Duke University 
Timothy Morton, University of California, Davis 
Richard Nash, Indiana University 
Laura Otis, Emory University 
Stuart Peterfreund, Northeastern University 
Henry Petroski, Duke University 
David Porush, MentorNet 
Nigel Rothsfels, University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee 
Joseph Rouse, Wesleyan University 
Londa Schiebinger, Stanford University 
Ronald Schleifer, University of Oklahoma 
Howard Segal, University of Maine 
Steven Shapin, Harvard University 
Steven Shaviro, Wayne State University 
Sally Shuttleworth, University of Oxford, St Anne’s College 
Susan Squier, Pennsylvania State University 
Barbara Stafford, University of Chicago 
Elizabeth Wilson, Emory University

Book reviews are usually solicited, but proposals for reviews may be sent to Jay Labinger, Book Review Editor, Configurations (jal@caltech.edu).

Review copies received by the Johns Hopkins University Press office will be discarded.

Abstracting & Indexing Databases

• Clarivate Analytics
  • Arts & Humanities Citation Index
  • Web of Science
• De Gruyter Saur
  • Dietrich's Index Philosophicus
  • IBZ - Internationale Bibliographie der Geistes- und Sozialwissenschaftlichen Zeitschriftenliteratur
  • Internationale Bibliographie der Rezensionen Geistes- und Sozialwissenschaftlicher Literatur
• EBSCOhost
  • ATLA Religion Database (American Theological Library Association), 1993-1993, dropped
  • Biography Index: Past and Present (H.W. Wilson), vol.8, no.3, 2000-vol.16, no.2, 2008
  • Book Review Digest Plus (H.W. Wilson), Jan.2000-
  • Current Abstracts, 1/1/2000-
  • Humanities Abstracts (H.W. Wilson), 1/1/2000-
  • Humanities Index (Online), 2000/01-
  • Humanities International Complete, 1/1/2000-
  • Humanities International Index, 1/1/2000-
  • Humanities Source, 1/1/2000-
  • Humanities Source Ultimate, 1/1/2000-
  • MLA International Bibliography (Modern Language Association)
  • OmniFile Full Text Mega (H.W. Wilson), 1/1/2000-
  • Poetry & Short Story Reference Center, 1/1/2000-
  • SocINDEX, 1/1/2000-
  • SocINDEX with Full Text, 1/1/2000-
  • TOC Premier (Table of Contents), 1/1/2000-
• Elsevier BV
  • Scopus, 2004-, 1996-2001 1993-1994
• Gale
  • Book Review Index Plus
  • Gale Academic OneFile
  • Gale Academic OneFile Select, 09/1999-01/2016
  • Gale General OneFile, 09/1999-01/2016
  • MLA International Bibliography (Modern Language Association)
• National Library of Medicine
  • PubMed
• OCLC
  • ArticleFirst, vol.1, no.1, 1993-vol.18, no.3, 2011
  • Electronic Collections Online, vol.1, no.1, 1993-vol.18, no.3, 2011
  • Humanities Index (Online), 2000/01-
  • Periodical Abstracts, v.10, n.1, 2002-v.18, n.1/2, 2010
  • Sociological Abstracts (Online), Selective
• Personal Alert (E-mail)
• ProQuest
  • Linguistics and Language Behavior Abstracts (Online), Selective
  • MLA International Bibliography (Modern Language Association)
  • Periodicals Index Online
  • Professional ProQuest Central, 01/01/2002-
  • ProQuest 5000, 01/01/2002-
  • ProQuest Central, 01/01/2002-
  • Research Library, 01/01/2002-
  • Sociological Abstracts (Online), Selective
  • The Annual Bibliography of English Language and Literature (ABELL)

Abstracting & Indexing Sources

• Mathematical Reviews (Print)   (Ceased)  (Print)
• Religion Index One: Periodicals   (Ceased)  (Print)
• Religion Index Two: Multi-Author Works   (Ceased)  (Print)

Source: Ulrichsweb Global Serials Directory.

0.3 (2024)
0.5 (Five-Year Impact Factor)
0.00021 (Eigenfactor™ Score) 
 

Rank in Category (by Journal Impact Factor):
85 of 112 journals, in “History & Philosophy of Science”

© Clarivate Analytics 2025

Published four times a year in January, April, July, and October

Readers include: Scholars in history, sociology, anthropology, rhetoric, and philosophy of science, technology, and medicine; literary history and criticism; art history and media studies; the cognitive sciences; and other researchers and practitioners in all areas of science, technology, and medicine. Also includes all members of the Society for Literature and Science.

Print circulation: 472

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Full Page: (4.75 x 7.5") - $375.00

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2 Page Spread - $563.00

Print Advertising Deadlines

January Issue - November 15

May Issue - March 15

September Issue - July 15

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Online advertising reservations are placed on a month-to-month basis.

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Society for Literature, Science, and the Arts

Association for Interdisciplinary Studies

Science History Publications/USA

"Configurations has been indispensable for my thinking and writing. It is an invaluable resource for cultural studies of science, technology, and medicine."

-Emily Martin, Princeton University

"Configurations brings to 'science studies' a literary-critical sophistication it has long needed. This well-edited journal is well on its way to becoming the Representations of this part of the academy."

-David A. Hollinger, University of California, Berkeley

"...a treasure trove for scholars across the academy, serving as the serious home for discussions of science, technology, and medicine as it is reflected in and reflects aspects of culture. Written by people who are specialists in more than one discipline, it shows that communicating across boundaries is possible when one writes clearly and directly."

-Sander L. Gilman, Cornell University

"In a world that needs more such meeting points, there is nothing like Configurations. A true nexus of science and literature, the journal is scholarly, informative, and readable."

-Ronald Hoffmann, Cornell University

"The journal is a kind of workshop, joining historical, literary, and cultural perspectives on science. Here you get interpretive originality without sacrificing scholarship."

-Theodore M. Porter, UCLA

"Configurations is a challenging and provocative resource for cutting edge cultural studies of science, technology, and literature. Exciting for its interdisciplinarity in an era when the disciplinary boundaries of knowledge are breaking down, it is quite indispensible!"

-John Law, Keele University, UK

"Configurations is a striking journal, at once interdisciplinary and brave in its undogmatic explorations. At a time when many of our best-known journals have become predictable, Configurations has remained open to new thoughts and approaches."

-Peter Galison, Harvard University

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