Introducing the Religious & Socio-Political Studies Journal
- Post by: irss
- July 5, 2022
- No Comment
I-RSS is excited to launch the first issue of the Religious & Socio-political Studies Journal this summer. This interdisciplinary, academic journal fills an important need for scholarly research about Muslims, for Muslims and often by Muslims. It also represents a step forward for I-RSS in support of our mission to produce original and relevant research and create space for research, outreach, advocacy and discussion.
Research
As a double-blind, peer-reviewed, interdisciplinary journal, RSS Journal will be a forum for high quality research by researchers from a full spectrum of disciplines and backgrounds. Thematic issues invite a diversity of scholarly insight into critical topics such as multiculturalism, while open-call issues will present the wide range of research relevant to Muslims in North America.
Outreach
The RSS Journal is a diamond open-access journal, which means that its content is immediately and freely available online. Ensuring that research benefiting the public good is freely accessible to all is an important principle to I-RSS. Disseminating knowledge through open-access publications ensures that individuals and organizations across Canada and elsewhere are equipped with the information they need to enact informed policy, combat misinformation, and change a culture of misunderstanding around Islam and Muslims.
Advocacy
I-RSS strives to actively shape and contribute to discourse about Muslims and Islam in North America. So much of the existing discourse – whether academic, political or popular – comes from an outside perspective, often informed by Islamophobic and colonial assumptions. Research about, for, and very often, by Muslims is essential to righting this imbalance and combating harmful ideas. These efforts must also include diverse Muslim perspectives, especially those of women and Black Muslims who are often doubly marginalized in these discussions. In the spirit of uplifting all Muslim voices, we are particularly excited that all the articles featured in the first issue of RSS Journal are by Muslim women scholars. Likewise, the editorial board is comprise entirely of women, most of whom are Muslim.
Discussion
Uplifting diverse Muslim voices is not simply a matter of just representation; it is about producing a more complete, more critical and more crucial discussion about what it means to be Muslim in Canada. We hope that by presenting freely accessible, high quality research that is diverse in perspectives, disciplines, and topics, RSS Journal sparks important discussions of practical importance and meaning to Muslim and non-Muslim Canadians alike.
Our first issue is sure to challenge as it tackles a quintessential tenet of Canadian national identity, multiculturalism. Articles on subjects ranging from cookbooks to the education system take a critical look at the origins, operation and underlying structures of multiculturalism and how Muslims navigate, challenge and even expand the boundaries of multiculturalism as a policy, ideal, and national myth. The issue also features illustrations and artwork by Muslimah artists from across Canada. RSS Journal: Muslims & Multiculturalism in Canada will be available to download at rssjournal.ca and i-rss.org this summer.
While we are excited to launch the first issue of RSS Journal soon, we are also already working on issue 2: Navigating Place as Muslims in Canada! If you are interested in contributing, see the full call for submissions at rssjournal.ca.