MAVCOR Journal is an open access born-digital, double blind peer-reviewed journal dedicated to promoting conversation about material and visual cultures of religion. Published by the Center for the Study of Material and Visual Cultures of Religion at Yale University and reviewed by members of our distinguished Editorial Board and other experts, MAVCOR Journal encourages contributors to think deeply about the objects, performances, sounds, and digital experiences that have framed and continue to frame particular human engagements with religion broadly understood and across diverse cultures, regions, traditions, and historical periods.
We publish on a rolling basis but divide publications into year-long volumes determined by date of publication. Contributors may publish in a variety of article categories. These include:
Object Narratives explicate religious images, objects, monuments, buildings, spaces, performances, or sounds in 2000 words or less. Although Object Narratives are short, they are not encyclopedia entries. Object Narratives are opportunities for focused analysis of a single object. They should make an original and substantial contribution to the field, while simultaneously being accessible to MAVCOR’s broad audience.
Essays are narratives of varying lengths, comparable to traditional journal articles, that engage in extended analysis of multiple images, objects, monuments, buildings, spaces, performances, or sounds.
Constellations are focused exhibitions of four to twenty objects brought into conversation with one another, with the option of including descriptive text.
Collections are large groups of related objects curated by a single individual, potentially divided into smaller sections, and accompanied by discursive text.
Medium Studies are texts of any length that focus attention on materials, media, and techniques. Medium Studies essays should make a substantial contribution to their field. Although MAVCOR welcomes Medium Studies that represent new and original research, in some cases Medium Studies may take the form of a condensed historiography or introduction to the range of scholarly work that has been carried out on a specific medium within a given area of study. The Medium Studies category offers a place to bring scholarship on media, materials, and techniques into conversation. In this setting, a “state of the field” contribution may be as useful to the general and scholarly public as a contribution that offers new research. Regardless, authors should credit all sources used, offering endnotes and Suggestions for Further Reading as appropriate. In all Medium Studies, authors should take materials, media, and/or techniques as the primary focus of their analysis.
Mediations are theoretical musings of varying lengths on subjects related to MAVCOR's areas of inquiry.
Conversations (formerly Interviews) are transcripts of conversations with relevant thinkers or artists optionally accompanied by contextual information and author commentary.
MAVCOR Journal strives to exploit the digital medium to its full potential, advancing innovation in online publication and including audio and video as well as multiple images. We welcome suggestions for new ways of better taking advantage of the digital platform.
Authors retain the copyright of their articles without restrictions. As of January 2022, authors have the option to publish under either a CC BY or a CC BY-NC Creative Commons license.
Under the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (read the human-readable summary or the full license legal code), authors retain ownership of the copyright for their content, but allow anyone to download, reuse, reprint, modify, distribute and/or copy the content as long as the original authors and source are cited. No permission is required from the authors or the publishers. Appropriate attribution can be provided by citing the original article. For any reuse or redistribution of a work, users must acknowledge the license terms under which the work was published.
Under the Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commerical (CC BY-NC) license (read the human-readable summary or the full license legal code), authors retain ownership of the copyright for their content, but allow anyone to download, reuse, reprint, modify, distribute and/or copy the content as long as the original authors and source are cited and the content is not being used for commercial purposes. No permission is required from the authors or the publishers. Appropriate attribution can be provided by citing the original article. For any reuse or redistribution of a work, users must acknowledge the license terms under which the work was published.
Authors may deposit all versions (submitted, accepted, and/or published manuscript) of their work in an institutional or other repository of their own choice without embargo.
Director: Sally M. Promey
Editor and Curator: Emily C. Floyd
Identification
ISSN: 2475-2428
DOI prefix: 10.22332/mav
URL: mavcor.yale.edu/MAVCOR-Journal
History
The Center for the Study of Material and Visual Cultures of Religion began publishing Conversations: An Online Journal of the Center for the Study of Material and Visual Cultures of Religion in 2014 as a product of our first Project Cycle: Sensational Religion (2008-2012). The publication began with the idea of promoting conversation about religious objects but quickly expanded. When we announced the first round of publications in 2014 we simultaneously launched our distinguished Editorial Board and have been carrying out double-blind peer-review ever since. In 2017 we selected a new name, MAVCOR Journal, in order to increase visitor, and contributor, clarity. Simultaneously, we began designating each publication year as a Volume. Articles published prior to 2017 are considered part of Conversations and are listed as such under Volumes in the MAVCOR Journal menu.
Conversations: An Online Journal of the Center for the Study of Material and Visual Cultures of Religion Identification
ISSN: 2475-241X
DOI prefix: 10.22332/con
Archiving
MAVCOR Journal works with Portico to ensure long-term access to its content. The growing reliance on e-resources has contributed to an increasing concern about the fragility of electronic content. Portico’s mission is to preserve scholarly literature published in electronic form and to ensure that these materials remain accessible to future scholars, researchers, and students. The Portico archive accepts content in the format in which it was originally published, and once deposited, maintains it indefinitely.
Contact us at mavcor@yale.edu