Our flagship journal is looking for applications for full editorial teams of 7-8 editors or applications for a core team of fewer editors, who will work with the BSA to appoint additional editors. This approach marks a change to the way we consider editorship and aims to be flexible in response to current circumstances and to make editing accessible to a broader range of sociologists. We are mindful that there are many potential editors who may be based in departments that are not able to support a full editorial team of seven or eight sociologists.
Applications are due this week so if you are thinking of applying, please contact Alison Danforth, for a pro forma.
Read the full call for applications HERE.
Deadline: 15 July 2021
We have seen a few changes to the way the BSA recruits editors in the last year. Work, Employment and Society moved to a process of rolling individual appointments; Cultural Sociology has built an editorial team through a series of individual appointments; and now Sociology is trialling a new approach.
What has not changed is the BSA commitment to an open process of appointment; a collegiate and team-oriented approach; and generous and constructive editorial process. We continue to seek editors through an open call process and a collective decision by the journal and the Trustees is made on the appointments. All applications are reviewed by a committee of volunteers from the journal and the BSA. This committee seeks the views of the journal’s Editorial Board, and collectively the committee and the Board make a recommendation to the BSA Trustees.
The collective support and orientation towards a team for support – including the Chair of the Editorial Board, fellow editors, BSA and SAGE staff – is there to support editors and make the experience rewarding and interesting. The role is undoubtedly an extra time commitment, but most editors ultimately feel it was worthwhile for what they take away. Some of the best aspects of an editorial role are gaining a better understanding of how to write for journal publication and how to avoid the pitfalls that lead to rejections; meeting lots of different academics with a wide range of expertise and at different career stages; and working with fellow editors, learning more about them and their research interests.
Editorial roles have significant influence and make an important contribution to the discipline, as well as offering opportunities to work closely with fellow editors, authors and BSA colleagues, to gain a deep knowledge of publishing processes and to develop one’s own writing practice.
Editors are supported by peer reviewers on our Editorial Boards who play a vital role in the development of each paper, but also in the strategic direction of the journal through Board meetings, special issues and working groups. For anyone interested in getting involved in the BSA journals, we will be seeking Editorial Board members for both Sociology and Work, Employment and Society in the autumn of 2021. Our Editorial Boards are active, working boards who participate in developing the strategic direction of the journal, as well as providing peer reviews that support the Editorial decisions.
