About the Journal

Focus and Scope

The CEA Forum is an online, peer-reviewed, open-access journal sponsored by the College English Association for the scholarship of teaching and learning in English studies. It is our hope that the journal will reflect the wide and varied interests of the CEA membership. To that end, we welcome praxis-oriented pieces that examine teaching in the fields of literature, rhetoric/composition, technical communication, creative writing, theory, English education, film studies, disability studies, and other areas related to the English discipline; further, we encourage pieces that look at these not necessarily as discrete areas of specialization, but that look at the ways these fields intersect and the practical connections that can be made among them.

Contributions are sought examining classroom praxis, offering best practices and pitfalls, teaching strategies, and case studies. Pieces that focus on all areas of the teaching and learning of English studies, including syllabi and assignments, are welcome. We also welcome short reviews of recent publications of interest to CEA members; contributors are welcome to suggest publications, or to write expressing interest in getting an assignment.

 

Peer Review Process

The CEA Forum seeks to provide current quality scholarship grounded in both theory and praxis for its readers. We are interested in articles that detail best practices and innovation, new ideas and fresh takes on tried and true methods. All submissions to The CEA Forum are sent out for blind review. Reviewers are CEA members with demonstrated records of expertise in the areas covered by the journal. Reader reports are returned with feedback (usually an extensive endnote and/or a set of marginal comments using the Review function in Word) and one of the following recommendations: 

  1. Accept Submission: The CEA Forum should accept the submission with only minor necessary revisions, if any.
  2. Revisions Required: The submission requires more than minor revisions but not major revisions. The argument and prose style, however, are substantial and clear. The piece will undergo review by the editor after resubmission. This category is the one our reviewers most often use.
  3. Resubmit for Review: The submission requires major revisions that address its argument and/or prose style. The piece will undergo review another set of outside reviewers after resubmission.
  4. Resubmit Elsewhere: The submission is of high quality but does not meet the focus and scope of the journal.
  5. Decline Submission: Though the submission might demonstrate promise, it does not sustain an argument or prose style that meets a minimum level of expectations for scholarship in our field. The likelihood of reaching that level is low, even with revisions.
  6. See Comments: The reviewer feels that none of the above categories accurately describes their evaluation of the submission.

Typical time for peer review is 3-6 months. However, given the increased teaching, research, and service loads of many members, it may take longer.

We ask potential reviewers to consider the following:

The journal has a wide range of members of the profession for its audience: graduate students, adjuncts/contingent faculty/part-timers, junior faculty, senior/seasoned faculty, writing center faculty, advisors, teachers of undergraduates and graduate students, composition, literature, creative writing, technical communication, survey courses, advanced courses for majors, general education courses, etc. It offers essays on teaching, advising, professional issues, etc. Articles should be appropriate for this broad audience.

The CEA Forum publishes articles addressing pedagogical issues with a heavy research/theory focus; it also publishes more reflective pieces; it also publishes praxis-based essays. One type of article is not more valuable than the others, but the purpose should be clear and sustained throughout the piece. Where required, the article should be grounded in the current scholarship and be aware of current practices. Where required, the article should be specific about teaching strategies delineated, offering course information, details about syllabi, assignments, methodology, etc.

Finally, submissions that take advantage of The CEA Forum's online venue through the inclusion of multimedia, images, graphs, links, and other web-based resources are especially appropriate for the journal.

We also welcome reviews of recent publications of interest to CEA members; contributors are welcome to suggest publications, or to write expressing interest in getting an assignment. CEA chooses books of general and professional interest to the association's membership for review. Members are invited to contact the editor if they are interested in writing book reviews, or have suggestions for books to be reviewed. Those interested are requested to include a CV with their initial note of inquiry.

 

Publication Frequency and Open Access Policy

Issues will appear twice a year, in December and May. Each issue presents about five articles and several book reviews. Occasionally special sections or roundtables will be featured. Authors interested in proposing books for review, special sections, or roundtables, should contact the editor.

Archives for Issues 34.1 (Winter/Spring 2005) through 38.2 (Summer/Fall 2009) can be found here: http://tinyurl.com/CEAForumArchive.

The CEA Forum is open access. All published content is available to readers online.

 

College English Association

Since 1938, CEA has been a vibrant, growing professional organization of scholar-teachers who regard teaching college students, undergraduate and graduate, as the proper focus of the profession. Our members represent a broad range of interests traditionally gathered under English studies, including literature, composition, popular culture, women's studies, minority studies, creative writing, film studies, technical communication, disability studies, speech, and ESL.

CEA's diverse membership connects the various segments of the profession: large and small institutions, state and private schools, liberal arts colleges and technical institutions, community colleges and universities.

Visit the CEA at www.cea-web.org.