Affilia
Affilia foregrounds critical feminist research and praxis in social work. In 1986, the founding editors created Affilia as a dedicated space for feminist voices. It aimed to fill a gap in mainstream social work journals that did not publish articles that focused on issues concerning women, thus creating space for discourses on topical and methodological challenges that have shifted over time. We, the current editorial board members, take an intersectional approach to gender to address challenges that minoritized scholars and practitioners experience in the discipline.
In the forged space of Affilia, we are intentional about including the perspectives of those who are at the margins, the experiences of minoritized bodies, and the contributions of scholars from diverse social, geographical, and theoretical locations. Meanwhile, we embrace our responsibility to trouble our own views and assumptions and to reflect the diverse feminist perspectives driving ongoing debates and considerations. Within our editorial process we are committed to centering an ethics of care, foregrounding relationships, and facilitating the development of critical feminist perspectives.
Contemporary feminisms are rooted in critical, intersectional analyses of the lived experiences of individuals and groups in the context of complex structures, systems, and discourses of power and privilege. We stand firm in resisting the erasure of histories of social movements and liberation struggles. Indeed, we are committed to interrogating social work’s own complex discursive histories, which include harms, erasures, discipline, and liberatory practices.
Affilia publishes interdisciplinary, groundbreaking, and thought-provoking scholarship, book reviews, and artwork that challenge taken-for-granted knowledge, raise new questions, generate innovative theories and methodologies, reflect global diversities, and illuminate divergent, liberatory, action-oriented pathways for social work theory, research, practice, and teaching.
See the latest winner of the Affilia Award for Distinguished Feminist Scholarship and Praxis in Social Work here.
This journal is a member of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).
Submit your manuscript today at https://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/affilia.
Affilia: Feminist Inquiry in Social Work is dedicated to the discussion and development of critical feminist values, theories, and knowledge as they relate to social work and social welfare research, education, and practice. The intent of Affilia is to bring insight and knowledge to the task of eliminating discrimination and oppression, especially with respect to gender, sexuality, race, ethnicity, class, age, and disability.
| Margaret (Meg) F. Gibson | Renison University College, Waterloo, ON, Canada |
| Sharvari Karandikar | Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA |
| Mery Diaz | New York City College of Technology, New York, NY, USA |
| Salina Abji | Independent Scholar |
| Janet L. Finn | University of Montana, Missoula, MT, USA |
| bridget livingstone | Independent Scholar |
| Lindsay B. Gezinski | University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA |
| Ramona Beltrán | University of Denver, Denver, CO, USA |
| Xiaobei Chen | Carleton University, Ottawa, ON, Canada |
| Sam Harrell | Seattle University, Seattle, WA, USA |
| E. Goldblatt Hyatt | Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ, USA |
| Kelly Jackson | Arizona State University, Phoenix, AZ, USA |
| Kalei Kanuha | University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA |
| Reshawna L. Chapple | University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL, USA |
| Sandra M. Leotti | University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY, USA |
| Gita Mehrotra | Portland State University, Portland, OR, USA |
| Sarah Mountz | Flinders University, Adelaide, Australia |
| Antonia R. G. Alvarez | Portland State University, Portland, OR, USA |
| Nadine Shaanta Murshid | University Of Buffalo, Buffalo, NY, USA |
| Quenette L. Walton | University of Houston, Houston, TX, USA |
| Charmaine C. Williams | University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada |
| Ben Anderson-Nathe | Portland State University, Portland, OR, USA |
| Samira Bano Ali | University of Houston, Houston, TX, USA |
| Stephanie Begun | University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada |
| Cyndirela Chadambuka | University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada |
| Candace Christensen | University of Texas, San Antonio, TX, USA |
| Carol Cleaveland | George Mason University, Fairfax, VA, USA |
| Molly Driessen | Providence College, Providence, RI, USA |
| Marta Graça | University de Coimbra Instituto, Jurídico, Coimbra, Portugal |
| Vern Harner | University of Washington Tacoma, Tacoma, WA, USA |
| Jane Hereth | University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI, USA |
| Jocelyn Hermoso | San Francisco State University, San Francisco, CA, USA |
| Ran Hu | Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA |
| Sid Jordan | Portland State University, Portland, OR, USA |
| Lisa Young Larance | Bryn Mawr College, Bryn Mawr, PA, USA |
| Kathryn Libal | University of Connecticut, Hartford, CT, USA |
| Jessica Lidell | University of Montana, Missoula, MT, USA |
| Maria Liegghio | York University, Toronto, ON, Canada |
| Rebecca A. Matthew | University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA |
| Mahasin Saleh | Doha Institute for Graduate Studies, Doha, Qatar |
| Sunny Sinha | Appalachian State University, Boone, NC, USA |
| Eliana Suarez | Wilfrid Laurier University, Waterloo, ON, Canada |
| Emma Tseris | University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia |
| Miriam Valdovinos | University of Denver, Denver, CO, USA |
| Jijian Voronka | University of Windsor, Windsor, ON, Canada |
| Corinne Warrener | Clark Atlanta University, Atlanta, GA, USA |
| Sarah Wendt | Flinders University, Australia |
| Tina Wilson | University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada |
| Carole Zufferey | University of South Australia, Magill, SA, Australia |
| Barbara L. Simon | Columbia University, New York, NY, USA |
| Sara Goodkind, Co-President | University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA |
| Jennifer Zelnick, Treasurer | Touro College, New York, NY, USA |
| Mimi Kim, Co-President | California State University, Long Beach, CA, USA |
| Yoosun Park | University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA |
| Barbara Levy Simon, Secretary | Columbia University, New York, NY, USA |
Affilia’s vision is to give voice to myriad ways in which feminist practice and praxis manifest in social work. Articulating innovative feminist voices and perspectives has steadfastly been the substance of the scholarship and art published in the journal since its inception. In keeping with this vision, Affilia seeks exceptional scholarship—ground-breaking, thought-provoking works that challenge taken-for-granted knowledges, raise new questions, generate innovative theories and methodologies, reflect feminist social work’s global diversity, and illuminate alternative pathways for social work theory, research, practice, and teaching
Affilia publishes a wide range of writings and analysis, including empirical research, conceptual papers, short-form essays on topics of current interest, and critical book reviews.
For All Manuscripts
Empirical Articles
Conceptual Articles
In Brief
Book Reviews
Manuscript Components (Details)
Submission Instructions
Manuscript Publication
Affilia seeks to bring insight and knowledge to the task of eliminating discrimination and oppression. To this end, the journal is dedicated to the discussion and development of feminist practices, theories, and knowledges, and the articulation of their relationship to social work and social welfare research, education, policy, and practice. All manuscripts submitted to Affilia should indicate their engagement with the above goals, whether in critique, extension, or opposition.
Empirical Articles
Affilia invites original manuscripts that are informed by a range of theories and quantitative and qualitative methodological traditions including (but not limited to): statistical analysis using descriptive, correlational, quasi-experimental and/or experimental methods; or content or narrative analysis, grounded theory, phenomenology, discourse analysis, historical analysis, case studies, ethnographies, participatory action research and/or arts-based methods.
In general, manuscripts reporting empirical studies should include:
• A manuscript consisting of no more than 30 pages including references;
• A manuscript title of no more than ten words;
• An abstract of no more than 200 words that describes the research study, methods, and key contributions;
• Verification that all research that involved human subjects underwent an institutional ethical review (e.g. human subjects or ethics review).
• A literature review, methods section, discussion of analysis and/or results, and discussion of key contributions. The methodology section should provide details about the research design, data collection, and data analysis steps.
Conceptual Articles
Affilia welcomes theoretical, conceptual, or perspective articles of relevance to feminist social work. Such scholarship will provide new theoretical insights, advance existing perspectives or views on theories or practices, introduce new concepts, or explicate alternative perspectives. Conceptual articles may also take the form of position papers that examine current issues, recent developments, or future directions relevant to the social work profession.
In general, conceptual scholarship should include:
• A manuscript consisting of no more than 30 pages;
• A manuscript title of no more than ten words.
• An abstract of no more than 200 words that describes the topic and key contributions of the article, and relevance to social work practice.
In Brief
Affilia publishes short reports and opinion pieces on current issues of relevance to feminist social work. In Brief articles aim to provide a space for practitioners, educators, and researchers to raise and discuss pressing issues of the day or to report on new developments and innovations, in a less prescribed format. Manuscripts will undergo the same process of anonymous peer-review as empirical and conceptual manuscripts. Maximum page length is 10 pages.
Book Reviews
Affilia publishes critical reviews of recent books of relevance to feminist social work. If you are interested in suggesting a book for review or reviewing a book for Affilia, please email the book review editor, Dr. Barbara Levy Simon (bls1@columbia.edu). Affilia does not accept unsolicited book reviews.
In general, book reviews are:
• 600 – 700 words in length; additional space may be allotted to reviews that cover two or more books under a common theme.
• Reviews offer a critical description of the book (this is not a summary).
• The language and writing style should be accessible to Affilia’s diverse readership.
• Manuscripts should be double spaced with 1-inch margins and prepared using a standard serif font (preferably Times New Roman); 12-point.
• Manuscript components should be submitted in the following sequence: title page, abstract, main document, references, appendices, tables, and figures.
Manuscript Components (Details):
1) Title Page must include the following:
• Full article title
• Acknowledgments and credits
• Each author’s complete name and institutional affiliation(s)
• Grant numbers and/or funding information
• Corresponding author (name, address, phone/fax, e-mail)
2) Abstract. Print the abstract (200 words) on a separate page headed by the full article title. Omit author(s)’s names.
3) Main Document. Begin article text on a new page headed by the full article title.
a. Headings and subheadings: Subheadings should indicate the organization of the content of the manuscript. Generally, three heading levels are sufficient to organize text. Level 1 heading should be Centered, Boldface, Upper & Lowercase, Level 2 heading should be Flush Left, Boldface, Upper & Lowercase, Level 3 heading should be Indented, boldface, lowercase paragraph heading that ends with a period, Level 4 heading should be Indented, boldface, italicized, lowercase paragraph heading that ends with a period, and Level 5 heading should be Indented, italicized, lowercase paragraph heading that ends with a period.
b. Citations: For each text citation there must be a corresponding citation in the reference list, and for each reference list citation there must be a corresponding text citation. Each corresponding citation must have identical spelling and year. Each text citation must include at least two pieces of information, author(s) and year of publication. Please reference the following website for citation information: https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/
4) Notes: If explanatory notes are required for your manuscript, insert a number formatted in superscript following almost any punctuation mark. Footnote numbers should not follow dashes ( — ), and if they appear in a sentence in parentheses, the footnote number should be inserted within the parentheses. The footnotes should be added at the bottom of the page after the references. The word “Footnotes” should be centered at the top of the page.
5) References. The manuscript format and references should follow the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (6th ed.) (APA guidelines). The following website has some citation information: https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/
6) Tables should only be used when necessary to efficiently present information. Tables must be formatted following APA guidelines. Each table must have a brief explanatory title. The entire table, including notes, should be double-spaced. All columns should have a separate heading, and all abbreviations should be explained. For a quick reference see https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/19/ .
7) Figures should be numbered consecutively in the order in which they appear in the text and must include figure captions. Figures will appear in the published article in the order in which they are numbered initially. The figure resolution should be 300dpi at the time of submission.
- Electronic Submission: All manuscripts must be submitted electronically to http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/affilia. Authors will be required to set up an online account on the SAGE Track system powered by ScholarOne.
- Anonymous Review: Please ensure that the manuscript is masked for anonymous peer-review in the text and reference section. Please use “(Author)” to indicate that you are referencing your own work.
- Cover Letter: Please include a cover letter in your submission indicating that the manuscript being submitted is for exclusive consideration of Affilia and has not been simultaneously submitted elsewhere. Feel free to include any other brief, relevant information.
- Recommended Reviewers: As part of the submission process you will be asked to provide the names of peers who could be called upon to review your manuscript. Recommended reviewers should be experts in their fields and should be able to provide a rigorous assessment of the manuscript. Please be aware of any conflicts of interest when recommending reviewers. The Editors are not obliged to invite any recommended/opposed reviewers to assess your manuscript.
- Examples of conflicts of interest with potential reviewers include (but are not limited to):
- The reviewer should have no prior knowledge of your submission
- The reviewer should not have recently collaborated with any of the authors
- Reviewer nominees cannot be affiliated with any of the authors’ institutions
- Permissions: The author(s) are responsible for securing permission to reproduce all copyrighted figures or materials before they are published in (AFFILIA). Authors are required to submit written permission to reprint, from the original publisher, any quoted material of 300 words or more from a single source (journal article or book); any quoted material from a newspaper (especially The New York Times), a poem, or a song (even a phrase); and any table or figure reproduced from another work. A copy of the written permission must be included with the manuscript submission.
Authors are requested to submit manuscripts in the reference style specified in the 6th edition of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association.
Submission of a manuscript implies commitment to publish in this journal. Manuscripts submitted to the journal should not have been published elsewhere in substantially similar content. Authors in doubt about what constitutes prior publication should consult the Editor in Chief.
- Question: Is my submission appropriate for Affilia?
- Answer: Please contact the editor with specific questions about your topic: ypark2@smith.edu
- Question: I’m having trouble submitting my manuscript on Scholar One. Who can I contact?
- Answer: Scholar One has a free technical support line: 1-888-503-1050. You may also contact the Affilia editorial assistant at bsuslovic@smith.edu
- Question: How long does the review process take? How long until my submission is published?
- Answer: If your submission is selected for review, a decision is typically made within several weeks, depending on the availability of reviewers. Manuscripts may go through several rounds of review before a final decision is made. If your manuscript is accepted for publication it will go through a final round of edits with SAGE before being published on the Online First section of Affilia with a doi number. The manuscript will later be batched for publication in an upcoming issue of the journal.
- Question: English is not my first language. Where can I seek writing support?
- Answer: Please see the following resource offered by SAGE: http://languageservices.sagepub.com/en/
- Question: How do I go about resubmitting a manuscript that was not accepted for review?
- Answer: All decisions are final, however you are encouraged to consider submitting other work.
- Question: I am a new scholar/ recent graduate and would like to get experience. How can I get involved with the journal?
- Answer: Contact the Editor-in-Chief with your areas of expertise in content, methods, and theory in order to be considered as a guest reviewer or to complete a book review.
- Question: I’m committed to the study of gender, feminism and social work and would like to get involved in the journal in a long-term capacity. How can I be considered for a position with Affilia?
- Answer: The journal puts out an annual call for applications for the position of Consulting Editor and Editorial Board Member. Check the website for details or contact the Editor-in-Chief at ypark2@smith.edu.