Editorial Team

Editors

• Benedicta A. Lomotey (Editor)
  Associate Professor of Spanish and General Linguistics
  Modern Languages Department
  Director, Centre for Latin American Studies (UG)
  University of Ghana
  balomotey@ug.edu.gh
• Rachel Thompson (Assistant Editor)
  Research Fellow
  Language Centre
  University of Ghana
  rthompson@ug.edu.gh 
• Kofi Asante Twumasi (Editorial Assistant)
  twumasante@yahoo.com
• Esi Sutherland-Addy (Member)
  Associate Professor
  Institute of African Studies, College of Humanities
  University of Ghana, Legon, Ghana
  esutherland-addy@ug.edu.gh 
• Susanne Gehrmann (Member)
  Professor of African Literatures and Cultures
  Department of Asian and African Studies
  Humboldt University, Berlin, Germany
  susanne.gehrmann@rz.hu-berlin.de
• Sabelo J. Ndlovu-Gatsheni (Member)
  Professor/Chair, Epistemologies of the Global South with Emphasis on Africa
  Vice-Dean Research, Africa Multiple Cluster of Excellence
  University of Bayreuth, Germany
  sabelo.ndlovu-gatsheni@uni-bayreuth.de
• Cas Wepener (Member)
  Professor of Religions and Head
  Department of Practical Theology and Missiology
  Stellenbosch University, South Africa
  cwepener@sun.ac.za  
• Joshua Amuah (Member)
  Senior Lecturer and Head
  Department of Music
  School of Performing Arts, College of Humanities
  jamuah@ug.edu.gh

Instructions for Authors

MANUSCRIPT FORMAT

Submissions should be typed double-spaced, fully justified, and in Times New Roman Font Size 12 (for the main paper as well as endnotes, quotations, and reference list) on 8.5” x 11” or A4 paper as a Word document. The normal span of submissions is as follows:

1. article: 5,000-8,000 words (inclusive of abstract, key words, references, and endnotes)
2. review: 1500-2,000 words
3. interview: 2,000-4,000 words

ABSTRACT AND KEYWORDS

The manuscript of an article should include an abstract in English of not more than 150 words as well as five keywords, placed immediately after the abstract. Typically, the abstract states the purpose, approach/methodology, major findings and implication/conclusion of the study.

DOUBLE-BLIND PEER REVIEW AND CONFIDENTIALITY

For the purpose of double-blind peer review, the first page of each manuscript should not bear the name of the author. Nor should there be any detail in the body of the paper to give away the author’s identity and institutional affiliation. Plethoric references to one’s earlier publications are not allowed. Neither are citations from the author’s papers in press/in preparation or forthcoming publications. Members of the editorial team shall treat submitted papers with the utmost confidentiality.

AUTHOR IDENTIFICATION

Each contribution should be accompanied by a separate sheet indicating the title of the paper as well as the following information about the author: (1) full name (family name last); (2) institutional affiliation; (3) current status, e.g., Student Researcher, Lecturer, Senior Lecturer, Professor, etc. (4) a short declaration that the manuscript has neither been published nor submitted elsewhere for publication and (5) a 100-150 word biographical note.

SUBMISSION

ALL contributions should be submitted through the LJH submissions portal (https://journals.ug.edu.gh/index.php/ljh/about/submissions). Manuscripts submitted via e-mail will not be considered. However, contributors who, in exceptional cases, have

difficulties submitting their manuscripts via the journal website should alert the editor via the journal’s official email address editorljh@ug.edu.gh. Contributors should kindly note that, as a rule, LJH does not publish papers from the same author in consecutive issues of the journal. Similarly, LJH does not publish multiple articles by the same author in one issue. Authors may check the status of their submissions using the journal’s tracking system on the LJH submissions portal (https://journals.ug.edu.gh/index.php/ljh/about/submissions).

ZERO CHARGES FOR ARTICLE SUBMISSION AND ARTICLE PROCESSING

Authors should note that LJH does not charge any fees, whatsoever, for submission and processing.

ARTICLE STRUCTURE

The article should be structured as follows:

• Introduction
• Body of the paper (possibly subdivided – each section should be titled accordingly)
• Conclusions

The section headings (Level 1) should be in boldface letters. Example:
1. The section headings (Level 1) should be in boldface letters. 

The subsection headings (Level 2) should be in boldface and italics. Example:
1.2 The subsection headings (Level 2) should be in boldface and italics.

If there is another level, these subheadings (Level 3) should be in italics. Example:
1.2.1 The next level subheadings should be in italics.

Numbered sections

Articles should be divided into clearly defined and numbered sections. Subsections should be numbered 1.1 (then 1.1.1, 1.1.2, ...), 1.2, etc. (Do not include the abstract in section numbering). This numbering should also be used for internal cross-referencing (e.g., As mentioned in Section 3, Lamptey (2021) insists...). Subsections should be given a brief heading. Use a capital letter only at the beginning of the first word in the (sub)heading and at the beginning of words that have to be spelled with capital letters in English. Each heading should appear on its own separate line. The main sections should be numbered as follows:

1. Introduction
2. Literature Review
3. Material and Methods
4. Results
5. Discussion
6. Conclusions

Appendices

If there is more than one appendix, they should be identified as A, B, etc.

CONSISTENCY IN USE OF LANGUAGE

Spelling, punctuation, and usage should, as much as possible, be consistently British (She avers, ‘Human behaviour can sometimes be understood in the light of responses to the “family code of honour,” societal organisation and even cultural artefacts’) of American (She avers, “Human behavior can sometimes be understood in light of responses to the ‘family code of honor’, societal organization, and even cultural artifacts.”)

Please note that should the punctuation, spelling, and usage in a quoted text conflict with those of your adopted style, this should not occasion a variation of the source text nor a [sic] tag in your paper.

GENDER-SENSITIVE LANGUAGE

Contributors are encouraged to use bias-free and inclusive terms, e.g.:

• “human resource development” instead of “manpower development”
• “to operate/run the front desk” for “to man the front desk”
• “comprehensive plan” or “vision” for “master plan”
• “work force” or “labor force” for “manpower”
• “staff hours” for “man-hours”
• “the President’s first/inaugural speech” for “the President’s maiden speech”
• “neutral zone” or “uninhabited territory” for “no-man’s land”
• “skill” for “workmanship”
• “husband and wife” for “man and wife”
• “strong enough” for “man enough”
• “To each according to their ability” for “To each according to his ability”
• “non-identical twins” for “fraternal twins”
• “the French” for “Frenchmen”

For more information on gender-sensitive language, please

consult http://www.escwa.un.org/information/conference/1400199.pdf

REFERENCE STYLE

LJH uses the 7th edition of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association – APA Style (https://apastyle.apa.org/) for references and in-text citation. All contributors should please use the APA style 7th Edition to rigorously prepare their manuscripts for submission. Manuscripts which do not adhere to these guidelines will be returned to the authors.

CITATIONS

In line with APA style, citations should be done in the text, not in endnotes or footnotes. In-text parenthetical citation could take one of the following forms:

1. “The sea was both hostile and docile, the ultimate trickster. It was as large as it was small, as long as you could claim a portion of it for yourself” (Danticat, 2013, p. 199). *Direct quotation (in text) of less than 40 words
2. Ajayi (2005) argues: wealthier states have had the privilege of extended periods of running protectionist economies. The development of globally competitive industries in these countries can be linked both to the important protectionist policies that shielded business enterprise in its infancy and to creativity. England, for example, was already a great industrial power before it adopted free trade in the 1840’s .... Thus, the notion of free trade is illusory....Every state’s economy is protectionist by most standards. (p. 224) *Direct indented block quotation of more than 40 words.
3. In the opinion of Spivak (1988), some of the most radical criticism emanating from the West is motivated by the palpably hegemonic desire of maintaining the West as the dominant subject in discourse and of power (p. 271). *Paraphrased 
4. Further evidence of the relevance of proverbs to everyday life can be found in Tamale (1999), Hussein (2005), Yankah (1985/2012), and Mieder (2014). *Synthesized
   As works by Clavell (1975), Onyewuenyi (1993), Steegstra (2005), and Bugul (2014) show, cultural conflicts dialectically engender cultural coexistence and transformation. *Synthesized
5. Although Anderson‟s Imagined communities (1983/2006) is largely predicated upon the political history of the Global South, few can contest the light it sheds on the genesis and survival of all modern nation-states. *Summary

NB: Please note that footnotes should only be used sparingly for further explication of ideas.

CITATION OF YOUR OWN TRANSLATED PASSAGES

Place your own translated passage in brackets just below the original text, e.g.: In the words of Eliacheff and Heinich, “ il y a aussi des épouses dont la passion se porte plutôt sur le statut social du ménage, qu’elles sont chargées de représenter et d’incarner ” (2002, p. 79).

[“there are also some wives whose passion rather centers on the social status of the household which they are obligated to represent and embody” (2002, p. 79, own translation)].

REFERENCE LIST

All cited works should be collated at the end of each paper under the heading “References” (boldfaced and centered). The reference list should:

1. begin on a new page
2. arrange authors’ names in alphabetical order
3. incorporate all the cited works in the paper
4. respect the APA 7th edition format (https://apastyle.apa.org/)

SYMBOLS

Conventional, current typefaces are to be used. Special symbols and diagrams should be avoided as much as possible.

ASSESSMENT CRITERIA

Papers submitted are assessed in these areas:

1. Overall general academic merit
2. Theoretical grounding in the relevant and current literature
3. Critical engagement with existing literature has clearly brought out the gap to be filled by the paper, thereby ensuring its extension of the frontiers of knowledge in the paper’s field
4. Currency of pertinent cited works
5. Quality of argumentation and reasoning
6. Sophistication in language usage and expression
7. Technical aspects (i.e., crafting of abstract and key words, respect of journal’s house style, and APA documentation model, etc.)

FEEDBACK FROM LJH

The LJH team intends to provide feedback to contributors between three and six months upon receipt of submissions. At the end of the peer review process, the editor takes a decision on the publication of the paper, guided by the verdict of the reviewers to whom the paper has been sent. Typically, reviewers are requested to make one of the following pronouncements on the paper:

• It is suitable for publication in its current form
• It is publishable subject to minor changes
• Substantial thematic, structural, and/or linguistic changes are required for possible resubmission and further review
• It is not suitable for publication

Once a decision on publication is made, LJH conveys this, together with reviewers’ comments and recommendations, to the contributor. If the paper has been accepted for publication, the Editor will indicate, in the letter of acceptance, the volume, number, and year in which it will be issued. The dates of submission, acceptance, and publication will be inscribed on the published article.

TYPE PROOFS

Authors will be sent typeset proofs of their manuscripts for their final input before publication. Please note that at this stage, major revisions are not acceptable.

CREATIVE COMMONS LICENSE

Attribution-Noncommercial- Noderivates 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0): The license allows others to “download your works and share them with others as long as they credit you, but they can’t change them in any way or use them commercially” (Source: https:creativecommons.org/licenses).

Copyright Notice

The copyright of all papers published in Legon Journal of the Humanities is vested in the journal. By agreeing to publish the accepted version of the paper in LJH, contributors automatically cede copyright of the manuscript to the journal. This notwithstanding, contributors may use parts of their published articles for non-commercial purposes, e.g., course material, conferences, and academic profile webpage.

Access and Attribution

While LJH published papers (new and archived) can be freely downloaded from its website in compliance with its gratis open access policy, hard copies of current and recent issues as well as offprints of specific papers can only be provided on demand. Citation of a paper from LJH should include name of quoted author, journal title, volume number, issue number, title of paper, pages, year of publication, and Digital Object Identifier (DOI)/Uniform Resource Locator (URL).

Copyright Notice

Creative Commons License

Attribution-Noncommercial- Noderivates 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0): The license allows others to “download your works and share them with others as long as they credit you, but they can’t change them in any way or use them commercially” (Source: https:creativecommons.org/licenses).

Copyright

The copyright of all papers published in Legon Journal of the Humanities is vested in the journal. By agreeing to publish the accepted version of the paper in LJH, contributors automatically cede copyright of the manuscript to the journal. This notwithstanding, contributors may use parts of their published articles for non-commercial purposes, e.g., course material, conferences, and academic profile webpage. 

Access and Attribution

While LJH published papers (new and archived) can be freely downloaded from its website in compliance with its gratis open access policy, hard copies of current and recent issues as well as offprints of specific papers can only be provided on demand.

Citation of a paper from LJH should include name of quoted author, journal title, volume, number, title of paper, page, year of publication, and Digital Object Identifier (DOI)/Uniform Resource Locator(URL). 

Privacy Statement

The names and email addresses entered in this journal site will be used exclusively for the stated purposes of this journal and will not be made available for any other purpose or to any other party.

Contact

The Editor

Legon Journal of the Humanities
School of Languages
College of Humanities
University of Ghana
P. O. Box LG 69
Legon-Accra

Principal Contact

Benedicta A. Lomotey
University of Ghana
editorljh@ug.edu.gh

Support Contact

Rachel Thompson
rthompson@ug.edu.gh

Publication Information

Peer Review

All manuscripts must be submitted via the LJH submission portal on the UG Journal Management System (https://journals.ug.edu.gh/index.php/ljh/about/submissions). LJH has a process where any submitted manuscript is first screened internally by the editorial team. If the submission is not a good fit for the journal, it can be rejected at this point and will not proceed to the peer review stage. The author may be given some feedback about which outlets might be a better fit and some initial comments for improving the quality of the manuscript. Other details taken into consideration during the initial screening include correct language usage, avoidance of plagiarism and compliance with the LJH Author Guidelines (available on the journal’s website). It is important to note that papers which do not adhere to the LJH instructions for authors will not be taken into consideration for publication. Manuscripts that successfully go through the internal review process are then anonymized and assigned to two peer reviewers with relevant expertise for a double-blind peer review. The duration from the time of submission to acceptance/rejection and publication of a manuscript depends on how quickly the editors obtain quality reviews from reviewers. Difficulties in finding peer reviewers in the research area(s) of the study may also lead to a rejection of a manuscript by the editors. The final decision on publishing an article is taken by the editorial board.

PEER REVIEW POLICY

Initial manuscript evaluation LJH has a process where any submitted manuscript is first screened internally by the editorial team. If the submission is not a good fit for the journal, it can be rejected at this point and will not proceed to the peer review stage. The author may be given some feedback about which outlets might be a better fit and some initial comments for improving the quality of the manuscript. Other details taken into consideration during the initial screening include correct language usage, avoidance of plagiarism and compliance with the LJH Author Guidelines (available on the journal’s website). It is important to note that papers which do not adhere to the LJH instructions for authors will not be taken into consideration for publication.

Manuscripts that successfully go through the internal review process are then anonymized and assigned to two peer reviewers with relevant expertise for a double-blind peer review. Authors of manuscripts rejected at the Initial manuscript evaluation stage will usually be informed within two weeks of receipt of the submission.

Type of peer review

The Legon Journal of the Humanities employs ‘double blind’ reviewing. The reviewers are anonymous to the author(s) during and after the refereeing process. Likewise, the identity of the author(s) is unknown to the reviewers.

How reviewers are selected

The Legon Journal of the Humanities  strives to match reviewers to the submissions according to their expertise. The reviewer database of LJH is frequently updated. Persons who are interested in serving as reviewers for the journal should send an email to the Editor, together with their updated CVs.

Review reports

Reviewers are asked to evaluate whether the manuscript:
· Is original with reference to contents and method
· Is methodologically sound
· Clearly presents results which support the conclusions
· Appropriately and exhaustively references previous relevant work
· Adheres to appropriate ethical guidelines, especially as concerns plagiarism
· Noticeably adds to the knowledge and development of the research area

Specifically, papers submitted are assessed in these areas:

1. Overall general academic merit
2. Theoretical grounding in the relevant and current literature
3. Critical engagement with existing literature has clearly brought out the gap to be filled by the paper, thereby ensuring its extension of the frontiers of knowledge in the paper’s field
4. Currency of pertinent cited works
5. Quality of argumentation and reasoning
6. Sophistication in language usage and expression
7. Technical aspects (i.e., crafting of abstract and key words, respect of journal’s house style, and APA documentation model, etc.)

Although the peer review process does not include language correction, reviewers are encouraged to suggest corrections of language and style to the paper. In the final round, the handling Editor will check issues of linguistic and stylistic correctness, and may return the manuscript to the author(s) for a full linguistic and stylistic revision.

How long does the review process take?

The duration from the time of submission to acceptance/rejection and publication of a manuscript depends on how quickly the editors obtain quality reviews from reviewers. However, the typical time for the first round of the refereeing process for the Legon Journal of the Humanities is approximately 6 weeks, with a maximum of three months.

In situations where the reviewers’ reports contradict one another or a report is unnecessarily delayed, a further expert opinion may be sought. Once both review reports are received by the handling Editor, a decision will be sent to the author together with the reviewers’ recommendations. Revised manuscripts are usually sent to the (initial) reviewers for checking. There may be the need for a second round of revision by the author. There are sometimes rare situations when the Editorial Team encounters extreme difficulties in finding a second reviewer to review the manuscript.

In such cases, the report from the available reviewer may guide the Editor to reach a decision on the manuscript if the extant report has thoroughly convinced the handling Editor. This may be done at the discretion of the Editor of LJH, on the basis of only one reviewer report. Difficulties in finding peer reviewers in the research area(s) of the study may also lead to a rejection of a manuscript by the editors.

Final report

A final decision to accept, reject or ask the author for a revision will be sent to the author together with the reviewers’ recommendations and any relevant attachments.

Final decision

Reviewers advise the Editor, who is responsible for the final decision to accept or reject the article.

Becoming a reviewer for the Legon Journal of the Humanities

If you would like to be a reviewer for the Legon Journal of the Humanities please contact the editorial office at editorljh@ug.edu.gh.

Why should you be a peer reviewer?

The benefits of being a peer reviewer include the opportunity for you to:

• Participate in the development of your field
• Remain conversant with new trends in your field
• Improve your research and writing abilities
• Collaborate with journal editors which may then provide the opening for you to receive an invitation to join an editorial board
• Gain knowledge of the publication process
• Earn recognition for your contribution as a peer reviewer
• Contribute to the upholding of quality control measures of the research in your field

Reviewer guidelines

The LJH follows the COPE Ethical guidelines for peer reviewers

Retractions

Authors who wish to withdraw their submissions should contact the Editor at editorljh@ug.edu.gh. Papers which are close to the end of the peer review process cannot be retracted.

Note on reviewing of Special issues and Conference Proceedings

Different peer review procedures may apply to Special Issues and Conference Proceedings. These cases may involve guest editors, conference organizers, or scientific committees, who all report to the handling Editor and ultimately, the Chief Editor.

Open Access Policy

This journal provides immediate open access to its content on the principle that making research freely available to the public supports a greater global exchange of knowledge.

1. CREATIVE COMMON LICENSE Attribution-Noncommercial- Noderivates 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)

2. ACCESS AND ATTRIBUTION Published papers (new and archived) of the Legon Journal of the Humanities (LJH) can be freely downloaded from its website in compliance with its gratis open access policy. Citation of a paper from LJH should include name of quoted author, journal title, volume, number, title of paper, page, year of publication, and Digital Object Identifier (DOI)/Uniform Resource Locator(URL).

3. COPYRIGHT The copyright of all papers published in Legon Journal of the Humanities is vested in the College of Humanities, University of Ghana. By agreeing to publish the accepted version of the paper in LJH, potential authors automatically cede copyright of the manuscript to the College of Humanities, University of Ghana. This notwithstanding, authors may use parts of their published articles for non-commercial purposes, e.g., course material, conferences, and online academic profile.

Publication Scheduling: two issues per year

The language of publication is English. As of Vol. 26, LJH will be published online twice a year as a gratis open access journal.  

Frequently asked questions (FAQ)

1. Will the quality of LJH not deteriorate on account of the online migration?
   No. Papers published in the online editions of the journal will be subjected to the same rigorous quality control process as the traditionally printed issues. In other words, LJH remains a refereed journal that subjects all manuscripts to ethical scrutiny and the double-blind peer review process.
2. Will the list of reviewers be published at the end of each volume?
   No, as the journal’s application of the double-blind peer review principle precludes the divulgence, however minimal, of the identity of reviewers.
3. Will reviews (books/films) and interviews also be subjected to the double-blind procedure?
   No. However, they will all be critically evaluated by specialists to determine their suitability for publication.
4. Can I make simultaneous submissions to Legon Journal of the Humanities (LJH)?
   Yes, but should all such papers receive favorable verdicts from reviewers, it is only one that can be published in an issue. Besides, the journal does not publish articles by the same author in back-to-back issues. For these reasons, a contributor’s multiple accepted papers can only be published in interspersed issues of the journal.
5. Can my article and film review be published in the same issue of LJH?
   No, the two can only be published separately in different issues of the journal.  
6. I have just interviewed an outstanding academic. Can this interview and my paper, already accepted for publication, be published in the same issue of LJH?
   No. They can only be published in different issues.
7. How many articles will be published in an online issue of LJH?
   Between seven (7) and fifteen (15), depending on the number of accepted refereed papers.
8. What are the submission and processing fees charged by LJH?
   LJH does not charge any fees, whatsoever, for submission and processing.
9. Are there deadlines for the submission of papers to LJH?
   There is normally no deadline as submissions are always welcome by the journal. However, the editor gives contributors deadlines for the return of revised manuscripts prior to the issuance of letters of acceptance. Further, guest editors of theme-based issues, in the Call for Papers (CFP), set timelines for the submission of abstracts, proposals, contributions, and corrected manuscripts as well as other tasks.
10. How long does the review process take?
    The review process may take between 2 to 6 months. The amount of time it takes to provide feedback on submissions is normally determined by reviewers’ availability and/or the need to seek another opinion in case of divergent reports from preceding evaluators.
11. Can I electronically monitor the progress of my paper under review?
    Not at the moment. However, by the end of 2018, the journal expects to provide a tracking platform on its website for authors to generate status reports on their contributions.
12. Does LJH publish papers that incorporate both the humanities and pure science?
    Yes. As a matter of fact, sub-branches of many disciplines in the humanities (archaeology, geography, linguistics, philosophy, psychology, etc.) either have an exact science component or use the scientific method.
13. Does LJH accept co-authored papers?
    Yes, since the journal does not discriminate between single-authored and multiple-authored papers.
14. When will LJH be indexed?
    LJH is already indexed in Modern Languages Association database. LJH has also started the process of getting the abstracts and descriptors of its articles to be indexed and cited in electronic databases, such as Scopus, Open Journal Systems (OPS), Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ), ASAOnline (Leiden), CLOCKSS, and CAB Abstracts.  By mid-2018, it is anticipated that abstracts and descriptors of LJH articles will be indexed in some of these databases.
15. Is it truly possible for reviewers to consider a manuscript publishable in its current form?
    Yes. Although most reviewers submit reports recommending minor or substantial modifications to manuscripts as a condition for publication, it is still possible for even three reviewers to agree on the impeccability of a submission. In other words, though a very rare occurrence, the “perfect” manuscript is still writable.
16. Does LJH accept conference proceedings for publication?
    Yes, but only as a theme-based, guest-edited, and refereed issue.
17. Does LJH accept conference papers for publication?
    Yes, once a paper has not been submitted and will not be submitted for potential publication in conference proceedings, it can be sent to the journal for review.
18. How many interviews are publishable in an issue of LJH?
    Maximum of three (3)
19. How many book and film reviews can LJH publish in one issue?
    Maximum of ten (10)
20. Can I use weblogs, Twitter, YouTube, and other social media platforms as sources in a “serious” academic paper submitted to LJH?
    Yes. It bears noting that social media provide a credible platform and an increasingly inevitable site for the generation, dissemination, and sharing of knowledge in our Information/Digital Age.
21. What is the role of the LJH Advisory Board?
    Members of the Advisory Board:
    help the Editorial Board in the formulation of policy and also offer   contributions towards the journal's sustainability, positive transformation, and compliance with international best practices
    assist the editorial board in shaping the intellectual direction of the journal
22. Where can I find the journal’s guide for contributors?
    On the journal’s webpage: www.coh.ug.edu/ljh/guideforcontributors
23. Whom shall I contact if I do not find my question on the FAQ list?
    The journal’s editor: editorljh@ug.edu.gh

Sources of Support

• Institutional Funds; Sale of hard copies