Aim and Scope:
MAST (The Journal of Media Art Study and Theory) is an online, open-access, double-blind peer-reviewed journal focused on interdisciplinary scholarship in media studies. Dedicated to both theory and practice, MAST is relevant to academics, researchers, artists, curators, and theorists whose work is heavily invested in media arts, media studies, theories of media, and artistic research that demonstrates creative engagements with media and technology. MAST is sponsored by NeMLA (The Northeast Modern Language Association) at the University at Buffalo (The State University of New York at Buffalo). The journal publishes digitally twice a year, in Spring and Fall.
The History of Media Art Practice and Study in Buffalo
University at Buffalo is known for having a rich history in media art practice, research and pedagogy for more than 50 years, especially experimenting with sound, electronic image, and computer-generated arts, as well as designing courses and programs in media study that engage both theory and practice. In 1973, media scholar Gerald O’Grady founded the Center for Media Study in Buffalo and invited a number of well-known independent media artists, video-/filmmakers, and researchers to join Buffalo’s Media Study program. Among these artists were Steina, Woody Vasulka, Tony Conrad, Hollis Frampton, Paul Sharits, Peter Weibel, and James Blue. It was then that this incredible team of media artist-scholars began designing and teaching a new practice-based research program which later came to be known as “Media Study.” What O’Grady called “Media Literacy” helped put various media courses and degrees on the map of higher education by engaging both artistic creation and research. In honor of and inspired by these pioneer artists, MAST aims to emphasize both practice and theory in media study and contributes to the field by publishing inspiring and innovative works by media artists, practitioners, researchers, theorists, and academics.
MAST accepts:
full papers (4000 - 6000 words)
practice-based studies (1000-2000 words)
video essays
interviews
book/exhibition reviews
MAST is interested in the themes below:
Media Archaeology
Analog and Digital Media
Archives and Archival Art Practices
Aesthetics of Glitch, Error, and Noise in Media Arts
Cultural Techniques
Haptic and Tactile Media Arts
Locative and Mobile Media Arts
Media Art and Embodiment
Peer Review Process:
MAST uses a double-blind peer-review process to ensure the quality and validity of research articles. First, the editors perform an initial review of all submissions and may reject papers that are outside the scope of the journal. Accepted submissions will be sent to at least two anonymous (internal/external) reviewers who are experts in the same field as the authors to evaluate the articles for their originality, methodology, significance, and relevance to the journal's scope and audience. The reviewers provide feedback to the authors and the editorial team, highlighting any strengths and weaknesses of the article, and suggest revisions or rejection. The editorial team makes a decision on whether to accept, reject, or request revisions based on the reviewers' comments and the quality of the article. If revisions are requested, the authors make the necessary changes and resubmit the article for another round of review.
All submissions are reviewed for publication on the basis of relevance to the journal’s scope and audience, the issue’s special theme, clarity of expression, the rigor of supporting research, the criticality of arguments, novelty, and originality of insights and conclusions.
Open Access:
MAST is an open-access journal and provides free access to the full texts of all its contents immediately upon publication. No fees are charged to either readers or authors. MAST is a member of Radical Open Access Collective.
Copyright:
Authors retain the copyright and full publishing rights without restrictions. Authors may reuse/republish their article as part of a book or other materials, providing acknowledgment is given to MAST as the original source and place of publication. Authors can post a copy of their accepted/published article on their websites and on their Institutional repository, citing that the article was originally published in MAST.
Licensing:
All MAST’s published articles are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).
Repository Policy:
We recognize the value of open access and the benefits of making research widely available. By providing authors with the flexibility to deposit their work in repositories, we support their efforts to maximize the visibility, accessibility, and impact of their research outputs. This policy reflects our commitment to fostering open scholarship and facilitating the dissemination of knowledge to a broader audience.
Indexing:
MAST is indexed by CrossRef and assigned a Digital Object Identifier (DOI). This means that all of our references are made available so that citations can be tracked by the publishing community. In addition, the journal is indexed in DOAJ and ROAD.
Open Citation:
MAST complies with the standards set forth by the Initiative for Open Citations (I4OC). We are committed to promoting transparency in scholarly research by making our citation data freely accessible to the public. Through our adherence to I4OC standards, we provide unrestricted access to citation metadata, enabling researchers to reuse and build upon this valuable information for the advancement of knowledge. By embracing open citations, we contribute to the global movement towards open science and foster collaboration and innovation in the scholarly research community.
Digital Archiving Policy:
MAST is committed to the long-term preservation of its content. All articles published by the journal are preserved on mast-nemla.org. In addition, the journal encourages authors to archive the published version of their articles on their institutional repositories and as well as other appropriate websites.