Submissions must adhere to the requirements outlined below to be considered.
General Requirements
Submissions must be in English.
Essays must not be previously published, nor simultaneously submitted to another journal for consideration; if some parts of the essay have been published elsewhere, the MAST submission must add substantially new meaning to the work.
Essays must have been proofread and proof-edited before submitting to MAST to be considered.
Essays must use the MLA (9th edition) citation style. The use of footnotes is permitted but should be kept to a minimum.
Essays must be sent in a Word document file and typed in Times New Roman, 12 points, double space with 1-inch margins. Use italics, rather than underlining except with URL addresses. All images must be placed within the text at the appropriate place (rather than at the end) and each must have a caption with necessary information based on MLA style.
All submissions must include a title, and provide the author’s info (name, institution of affiliation, and a valid email address), in addition to a short author biography (100-150 words).
All necessary permissions to publish images, illustrations, sounds, videos, etc. must have been acquired by authors and they respond to all legal rights. All copyrights for published images and artworks must be cleared by the publication date.
All submissions must be sent to the editors’ email: editors@mast-nemla.org
Full Papers:
Full paper submissions must be between 4000 - 6000 words including bibliography, and notes, and include an abstract (max. 250 words) with 5-8 keywords.
All aspects of the submission (article, abstract, keywords, author’s bio, contact info) must be included in one Word document file.
Practice-based Studies:
Submissions in this category include an original media artwork, accompanied by an essay (1000-2000 words) that frames the work in the context of the issue’s theme.
Media artworks for submission may include (but are not limited to) video/sound art, documentation of media installations, virtual/augmented/mixed reality projects, locative/mobile media art, digital art, hybrid media, interactive and web-based projects, among others. Essays may include a short description of the artwork/project (e.g. materials, techniques, and processes of creation/practice, etc.) and also should explain how the work theoretically relates to the key theme in the issue.
Submissions in this category are assessed based on originality and relevance — how well they speak to the issue’s theme and how well they fit the journal’s scope and focus.
Authors are encouraged to include 3-4 still images of the artwork in the body of their essay. Images must be in jpeg format, and ensure an adequate quality for publication and web display.
For online works (video, sound, and web-based projects), please provide a link and include a password if needed for the editors’ review. If your submission is accepted for publication after peer review, you will be asked to send the materials of the work in high quality (e.g. video file, sound clips, etc.) to the editors via Dropbox or Google Drive.
All aspects of the submission (essay, images or links to the work, bio, contact info) must be included in one Word document file.
Essays must be new and not previously published. However, the artwork could be previously exhibited or published (in print or online). If the artwork you are submitting has been exhibited or published before, please provide the details about it in your submission.
Obtaining all necessary copyright permissions to publish images, sounds, videos, etc. must have been acquired by the authors. Authors will be provided with a MAST release form to get the necessary signatures from the copyright owners. All copyrights for published images and artworks must be cleared before the publication date.
All video artworks that are accepted will be published on the journal's Vimeo channel and embedded on the website. By submitting their work to MAST, authors implicitly agree to have their work published on the journal's Vimeo channel.
Video Essays:
Submissions in this category include a video and do not accompany any written portions. Video essays are assessed as the audio-visual equivalent of the written essays that have used audio-visual, and textual materials to build an argument relevant to the issue’s specific theme.
For video essays, please submit a link to the video online (on Vimeo or YouTube), and provide a password for the editors’ review.
If accepted for publication, final versions of video essays should be sent directly to the editors as an HD quality (1920x1080) MP4 file via Dropbox or Google Drive.
Video essays must not be previously published, nor simultaneously submitted to other journals for consideration.
Interviews and Book/Exhibition Reviews:
For interviews and book/exhibition reviews, please contact editors in advance (editors@mast-nemla.org) and plan to submit a short proposal.
The length of interviews and book/exhibition reviews may vary and should be discussed with the editors before submission.
Propose a special issue:
Please send your special issue proposal with your bios to the editors at editors@mast-nemla.org for review.
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 suggesting 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.
Incomplete submissions, including submissions above or below the word limit or those received after the deadline, may not be considered. Submissions outside the scope of the journal and specific themes of each issue are also subject to rejection.
We are committed to ensuring the integrity of the peer review process. We make sure that all submitted materials are treated as strictly confidential until published.
Notification Emails
Authors receive notification of emails of acceptance/rejection for their submission within four weeks of the submission deadline. Also, authors should get a receipt email that confirms their submission was received and considered in the first round of reviews. If you didn’t get a receipt email for your submission from MAST within one week of the submission deadline, please contact us again at editors@mast-nemla.org and follow up.
The average time between article submission and publication is between 24 - 48 weeks.
Plagiarism
MAST has a policy of zero tolerance for plagiarism and sustains publication ethics that is based on an honest citation of sources as well as original research. Please follow the rules regarding plagiarism that are recommended by the MLA guidelines. Identification of plagiarism will automatically lead to the rejection of the manuscript and to the permanent banning of the author from future publication in the journal, as well as to institutional exposure. We expect that editors and reviewers will be vigilant in their evaluation of submissions and notify the journal about any plagiarism identified.
Non-discrimination
All articles will be reviewed based on content and merit of contribution without regard for the gender, sexual orientation, race, nationality, or age of the author(s).