About the Journal

Focus and Scope

Southern African Humanities is a peer-reviewed, multidisciplinary journal that prioritizes research articles with a material-culture focus in Archaeology, Anthropology, History and related fields. It is concerned with southern Africa but encourages research that addresses the broader context within which southern African topics lie. Research is defined as "original, systematic investigation undertaken in order to gain new knowledge and understanding" (as per the Research Outputs Policy of the South African Department of Higher Education and Training, 2015).

Ranking

Southern African Humanities is indexed by Scopus and Clarivate’s Web of Science (Arts & Humanities Index) and is ranked by Scimago Journal Rankings.

Journal History

Southern African Humanities has its origins in the Annals of the Natal Museum, published almost without interruption from 1906 to 2000. The Annals continues today with solely natural science content as African Invertebrates. In 1989 the museum established the Natal Museum Journal of Humanities for human science research, and in 2001 renamed the journal Southern African Humanities. The volume run continued without interruption.

Publication Frequency

SAH is published annually. Articles are published electronically as soon as they have passed through the refereeing and production process. Physical copies are printed once a year, typically at the end of the annual publishing cycle.

Peer Review Process

SAH uses a peer-review process. The policy is as follows:

1. The Editorial Committee uses a triage process on initial submission; if the submission is deemed unsuitable, it is returned to the author without being sent out to peer-review. If the submission is deemed suitable, it is sent for peer-review.

2. SAH employs a "single-blind" review process: referees are anonymous but the author is known.

4. Submissions are sent out to a minimum of two referees.

5. The Editorial Committee reserves the right to make the final decision as to whether or not to publish the submission. Reasons for rejection include but are not limited to, the failure of authors to respond adequately to referee comments, further opinion on the scope of the submission, failure to adhere to author guidelines, and tardy responses to editorial requests.

6. At any point in the review process, the Editorial Committee may elect to withdraw and reject the submission. In these cases, all rights regarding the submission revert back to the author.

Submissions

SAH uses the OJS online system to manage the editorial process for articles submitted as candidates for publication. To submit an article for consideration, you need to be registered on the website. If you are not yet a registered user, send an email to editor@nmsa.org.za to request a login.