We launched the Social Epistemology Review and Reply Collective (SERRC; ISSN 2471-9560) on 15 November 2011. To date, we have published over 1350 posts from various commentators, intellectuals, and scholars (please refer to our Site Bibliography).
The SERRC participates in a publishing assemblage—an interconnected publishing platform—with the journals Social Epistemology (Taylor & Francis), and The Journal of Sociotechnical Critique (Open Access), and the book series “Collective Studies in Knowledge and Society” (Rowman & Littlefield International). In partnership with our contributors, our assemblage helps to initiate, develop, amplify, reimagine, and renew work published on one platform through the resources of the other platforms. The SERRC serves as a recursive outlet supporting any number of individual and collaborative projects. In particular, we seek to work with early-career scholars. Our publishing structure, and emphasis on dialogue and the reception of scholarly work, affords early-career scholars significant opportunities not found with more traditional publications.
Editorial Board
The Editorial Board consists of the members of the SERRC. Specific roles are as follows:
Jim Collier (jim.collier@vt.edu), Virginia Tech (US), Founder and Executive Editor;
Kamili Posey (kamili.posey@gmail.com), Kingsborough College (US), Book Review Editor;
Eric Kerr (eric.kerr@nus.edu.sg), National University of Singapore (SG), Former Executive Editor, Former Book Review Editor;
Adam Riggio (adamriggio@gmail.com), International Language Academy of Canada, Toronto, Ontario (CA), Special Topics Editor, Former Executive Editor.
On Peer Review
The SERRC is an open access forum. Our unique resources and purpose, realized through the deliberate practice of social epistemology, makes the issue of peer review multifaceted.
First, all submissions undergo editorial peer review. Editors solicit contributions and make decisions regarding whether or not, and how, to publish submissions.
Second, we follow a process of public peer review that includes soliciting responses and promoting continued dialogue on all our submissions. For example, to advance exchanges on replies to articles published in Social Epistemology and on the SERRC’s book reviews, we will contact the authors of the article or book under discussion and request their response to the reply or review. If we find that the author is unavailable, we frequently engage other respondents. As a matter of policy the SERRC encourages, solicits, and supports dialogues on arguments and issues whenever we can find interlocutors for as long as their interest holds.
Third, as a “review and reply collective” the SERRC lends a meta-function as a forum for open peer review; that is, we invite discussion on published work that often has undergone blind peer review. Yet, as blind review occurs under a form of secrecy that leads to well-documented bias and abuse while relying on typically unrecognized and unrewarded labor, the SERRC practices a shared approach to, and accountability for, knowledge-making.
Creative Commons, Copyright
We abide by Creative Commons, Attribution (CC BY) principles: “Licensees may copy, distribute, display and perform the work and make derivative works and remixes based on it only if they give the author or licensor the credits (attribution) in the manner specified by these.” This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Contributors to the SERRC retain the copyright to their work. We encourage our contributors to revise and reuse their work as they deem appropriate.
The SERRC resides on a WordPress content management system. Submissions are archived on this system. We pay fees required by WordPress for the SERRC’s URL and to keep the site ad free (other fees arise on occasion).
Instructions for Authors
Please send your contributions in .doc or .docx (no pdfs please) format as an email attachment to Jim Collier—jim.collier@vt.edu.
Word limit: We aim for submissions roughly 3000-words in length. However, no practical word limits apply (in 2022 submissions averaged just over 3,000 words). Please determine the appropriate length of your work given reader expectations, your goals, and the rhetorical situation. Longer contributions may be posted online in separate linked parts at the editor’s discretion. A single pdf of the full contribution will be available for download.
Order: Your submission should be compiled in the following order—title; author name, affiliation, brief biography, email address; 5-7 keywords; main text (including images); acknowledgments; references; appendices (as appropriate). Please locate footnotes as the bottom of the page (not the end of the document).
Font, Margins, Footnotes, Quotes: Main text—Garamond, 12-point, single-line spaced, margins left justified, ragged-right, 1 inch for top and bottom margins, 1.25 inches for left and right margins. Footnotes will be placed at the bottom on the page, Garamond, 10-point, single-line spaced. Quotes longer than 4 lines of text will be spaced down and indented 1/2 inch on both the left and right margins.
Author Information: Please provide your name, affiliation, a brief professional biography (50- 100- words), and email address.
Abstract: Looking at our most recent publications, you will see that we place the introductory paragraph of the piece “above the fold”; that is, the opening paragraph comes before an image, citations, and the main body of the text. At the end of the opening paragraph, we ask the reader to “please read below the rest of the article.” Considering where this paragraph appears, please craft an opening that both appeals to the reader and provides an overview of arguments and issues addressed in the piece. While not a traditional abstract, your opening should invite and orient the reader to the content of your work.
Title and Keywords: Please provide a title and keywords in keeping with the lists of words or phrases used by the Library of Congress. Please provide five to seven keywords. We will use keywords as tags for online searches.
Headings: Please use unnumbered—unless numbering is necessary for presenting your argument—first- and second- level headings—bold, Garamond, 12-point, capitalized as one would a title. Please consider descriptive keywords and phrases beyond “introduction” and “conclusion.”
Links: Please include links to sources and references throughout your text. SERRC editors will add links to material generally within our publishing assemblage.
Style and Tone: The SERRC attracts an international public—though decidedly scholarly and interdisciplinary—audience. We wish to reach as broad a number of readers as possible. A direct tone (active voice, limited and explicated jargon), short sentences and paragraphs, and use of headings, links, and spacing help make for greater online readability. Given your training and preferences, we invite the judicious use of traditional scholarly apparatus.
Spelling and Punctuation: While we do not have a uniform house style regarding English spelling and punctuation (e.g., British or American), please apply consistently the style you choose.
References: Chicago author-date. Please refer to the Taylor & Francis standard style guide. See also the Purdue Online Writing Lab (pdf) and Author-Date: Sample Citations.
Display and Archive: Your contribution will be displayed as an HTML and available as a pdf. Your contribution will be archived on the WordPress content management system.
Questions: Please contact Jim Collier—jim.collier@vt.edu.
Thank you for your efforts on behalf of the SERRC.