Guide for Authors

Manuscript Submission Guidelines

Research in Contemporary World Literature (RCWL)

This section provides instructions, requirements, and style guidelines for preparing manuscripts for submission to Research in Contemporary World Literature.

  1. Required Forms
  2. Authors must submit the Conflict of Interest and Commitment forms along with their manuscript.

Scope of the Journal

Research in Contemporary World Literature (RCWL) is an international, biannual, peer-reviewed journal dedicated to publishing original and theoretically informed research in the following areas in Persian and English:

  • Contemporary World Literature

Emphasis is placed on literary texts, movements, and critical developments emerging after 1945, across global languages and cultures.

  • Language and Comparative Literature

Including comparative literary studies and interdisciplinary approaches that explore language, theory, and cross-cultural literary relations.

RCWL particularly encourages submissions that engage with innovative theoretical paradigms and contribute to ongoing debates in postcolonialism, transnationalism, feminism, ecocriticism, disability studies, posthumanism, and global south perspectives.

  1. General Submission Policies
  • Submissions must be made electronically via the journal's website.
  • Articles must be original and not under review elsewhere.
  • Author approval is required for publication.
  • The journal reserves the right to accept, reject, or edit submissions.
  • Articles derived from academic theses must list the student, supervisor, and advisors, with the supervisor assuming responsibility for the content.

Article Length and Format

Manuscripts submitted to Research in Contemporary World Literature must conform to the following structural and stylistic requirements. Submissions that fail to meet these standards may be returned for revision prior to peer review.

Word Count

  • Articles should be between 6,000 and 8,000 words, inclusive of the abstract, footnotes, and references.

 

1) Abstract

  • A concise summary of the article’s core argument, methodology, and major findings.
  • Length: Between 200 and 250 words.
  • Keywords: Include 5 to 7 keywords that accurately reflect the article’s theoretical framework, literary scope, and subject matter.

 

2) Introduction

  • Clearly introduce the research topic, its significance, and the scope of inquiry.
  • Include a brief but focused literature review, identifying the research gap the article seeks to address.
  • Clearly articulate the research questions, hypotheses, or problem statement.
  • Situate the article within the field of post-1945 modern and contemporary literature, with a view toward originality and contribution.

 

3) Theoretical Framework

  • Provide a clear and coherent account of the theoretical approach(es) guiding your analysis.
  • The framework should be integrated with the research question and aligned with the chosen texts.
  • Ensure theoretical references are properly cited and explained, especially when engaging with interdisciplinary perspectives.

4) Analysis

  • The core section of the article, where detailed critical analysis of primary texts is conducted.
  • Organize this section using clear and relevant subheadings to enhance readability, logical flow, and thematic development.
  • Engage directly with textual evidence, and avoid summary. Interpretation and argumentation must be foregrounded.

5) Conclusion

  1. Summarize the main arguments and contributions of the article in a coherent and focused manner.
  2. Highlight the implications of the findings for broader literary or theoretical debates.
  3. Do not introduce new literature, evidence, or unresolved questions in this section.
  4. Length: Maximum 500 words

6) Works Cited

 In-Text Citation Guidelines (MLA 9)

  • Use primary sources and follow MLA 9th edition formatting.
  • Titles of books, journals, and plays: italicized.
  • Titles of articles, stories, and poems: “in quotation marks.”
  • First mention of each author should include full name with Latin equivalent in a footnote.
  • If the author/work is mentioned in the sentence, omit the name in parentheses.
  • For repeated citations in the same paragraph, only include the page number (avoid “ibid.”).
  • Non-Persian names should appear in Persian transliteration in the text, with the correct Latin spelling in a footnote at first mention.
  • Place the period after the parenthetical citation.
  • Quotations over 40 words (approx. four lines) should be formatted as block quotes.

Examples:

  • (Al-e Ahmad 33)
  • (Makari and Ahmadi 56)
  • (Perfitt et al. 286)
  • (Douglas 16, 87, 267)
  • (Rowlands 57, Hamilton 87)
  • (Wittgenstein 1986, 90)
  • (Wittgenstein 1986a, 90)
  • ("The Holy Bible" 987)

 

Works Cited (MLA 9 Style)

Books

  • Single Author:

Brontë, Charlotte. Jane Eyre. Signet Classics, 2002.

  • Two Authors:

Landau, Robert, and John Pashdag. Outrageous L.A. Chronicle, 1984.

  • Three or More Authors:

Downing, Lyn, et al. Students in Our Midst. Doubleday, 2007.

  • Edited Book:

Weisser, Susan Ostrov, editor. Women and Romance: A Reader. New York UP, 2001.

  • Chapter in an Edited Book:

Sheppard, Michael. “Assessment: From Reflectivity to Process Knowledge.” Handbook for Practice Learning in Social Work and Social Care: Knowledge and Theory, edited by Joyce Lishman, Jessica Kingsley, 2007, pp. 128–37.

  • Translated Book:

Batting, Fred. Gothic [Gutic]. Translated by Alireza Placid, Afraz, 2011.

  • Persian Book:

Zarrinkoob, Abdol Hossein. Nardebane Shekasteh [The Broken Ladder]. Sokhan, 2009.

  • Poem, Story, or Article in a Collection:

Sullivan, Rosemary, and Mark Levene. “The House of Fiction.” Short Fiction: An Anthology, edited by Sullivan and Levene, Oxford UP, 2003, pp. 4–12.

  • Thesis or Dissertation:

Miller, Ryan. Understanding the Process of Multisensory Integration. 2016. Wake Forest U, PhD dissertation, WakeSpace, lib.wfu.edu/14354790800018.

  • Religious Text:

The Holy Bible. New International Version, Zondervan, 1978.

 

Journal Articles and Electronic Sources

  • Single Author:

Moussavi Shirazi, Seyed Jamal. “Ta’sir-e-Sourealism bar Tafakkor-e-Mo’aser” [“The Influence of Surrealism on Contemporary Thought”]. Research in Contemporary World Literature, vol. 6, no. 50, Winter 1387, pp. 147–57.

  • Two Authors:

Khattat, Nasrindokht, and Issa Amankhani. “Adabiyat va Falsafeye Vojoudi” [“Literature and Existential Philosophy”]. Research in Contemporary World Literature, vol. 4, no. 45, Summer 1387, pp. 47–64.

  • Multiple Authors:

Barker, Roberta, et al. “Archival Collaborations: Using Theatre Archives to Teach Canadian Theatre History and Archival Literacy.” Canadian Theatre Review, vol. 156, no. 2, Fall 2013, pp. 46–51.

  • Web Source:

Matthews, Kevin. “W. E. Oliver House.” Greatbuildings.com, Architecture Week Great Buildings Collection, 2010. Accessed 1 Feb. 2010.

 

Acknowledgment Requirement

  • Authors must include an acknowledgment of the financial or institutional support received for the research, if applicable.