Submit a Manuscript to the Journal
English Academy Review
For a Special Issue on
Beyond the Colonial Archive: African Knowledge Systems and the Future of English Studies
Manuscript deadline
Special Issue Editor(s)
Dr Nelson Ratau,
UNISA
bolediwamphele@gmail.com
Beyond the Colonial Archive: African Knowledge Systems and the Future of English Studies
As The English Academy Review marks its fifty-first year, this special issue invites scholars to reflect on the future of English Studies in an era shaped by demands for epistemic justice, curriculum transformation and decolonial knowledge production. While critiques of coloniality have become increasingly prominent within the humanities, there remains an urgent need to move beyond critique towards the construction of new intellectual frameworks grounded in African histories, philosophies, languages and knowledge systems.
This special issue seeks contributions that explore how African epistemologies, oral traditions, indigenous intellectual practices and alternative archives can reshape literary studies, language studies and cultural analysis. It aims to foreground scholarship that not only interrogates inherited disciplinary assumptions but also imagines new possibilities for English Studies in Africa and the Global South.
Suggested themes
The themes are, and are not limited to:
- African literary theory and criticism
- Indigenous knowledge systems and literary interpretation
- Oral traditions as intellectual archives
- Decolonial and postcolonial methodologies
- African philosophies and literary studies
- Language politics and multilingualism
- Curriculum transformation in English Studies
- African ecologies and environmental humanities
- Digital humanities and African knowledge production
- African futurisms and speculative imaginaries
- Memory, heritage and alternative archives
- Teaching English Studies in the twenty-first century
- Literature, ethics and social justice
- New directions in African and Global South scholarship
Submission Instructions
Scholars working in English Studies and related disciplines are invited to submit original research articles that engage with the themes of this special issue.
Submission deadline: 10 December 2026
Abstract length: 250–300 words
Full paper length: 5,00-6,000 words, inclusive of references.
Submission email: bolediwamphele@gmail.com
Submissions should include an abstract of 250–300 words outlining the research problem, theoretical or methodological approach, central argument and contribution to scholarship, together with the full research article. Manuscripts should be submitted as Word documents.
Authors are encouraged to engage critically with relevant scholarship and to demonstrate how their contributions advance debates on African knowledge systems, epistemic justice and the future of English Studies.
All submissions will be considered in accordance with the journal’s editorial processes and applicable peer-review requirements. Submission does not guarantee publication.
Author information and declarations
Each submission must include a separate title page containing the following information:
- Name:
- Department:
- Institution:
- ORCID iD:
- Email:
Authors must also include the following declarations on a separate page:
- Original research: The article represents original research and has not been published previously.
- Use of artificial intelligence: The article is not AI-generated. Any use of AI tools must be disclosed in accordance with the journal’s applicable policies.
- Acknowledgement of sources: All sources used in the article have been appropriately acknowledged and referenced.
- Exclusive submission: The article has not been submitted elsewhere and is not under consideration by another journal or publication.
Authors are responsible for ensuring that their submissions comply with the journal’s author guidelines, academic integrity requirements and publication ethics standards.