Submissions

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Submission Preparation Checklist

As part of the submission process, authors are required to check off their submission's compliance with all of the following items, and submissions may be returned to authors that do not adhere to these guidelines.
  • The submission has not been published previously, nor is it before another journal for consideration.
  • The submission has been presented as a paper at the annual Postgraduate Forum of the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Amerikastudien (PGF of the DGfA). Please note: This is only required for PGF issues. If you are submitting your work for a thematic issue, please just check this box!
  • The submission is in Microsoft Word document file format (.doc or .docx).
  • The text adheres to the stylistic and bibliographic requirements outlined in these submission guidelines.
  • The text has been formatted using the COPAS document template. All illustrations, figures, graphs, and tables are placed within the text at the appropriate points, rather than at the end.
  • Where available, URLs have been provided for references.

Author Guidelines

COPAS is dedicated to publishing original work by early career scholars working in the disciplines associated with American Studies. Submitted texts should be between 5,000 and 8,000 words in length, including a list of works cited. Please note that at this time COPAS does not accept article submissions on a rolling basis.

Style and Document Template 

Please read the COPAS Style Sheet and use our document template when preparing your submission. 

Abstract, Keywords, and Short Biographical Note 

Please provide five to ten keywords for your article. Furthermore, contributors are kindly asked to include an abstract of about 60 to 100 words (for the contents page). Submissions should also include a brief note on the contributor(s) to be presented in the journal; so please sketch: 

  • your academic development and career; 
  • the focus of your research; 
  • relevant previous publications. 

Documentation of Works Cited 

The guidelines of the 9th edition of the MLA Handbook apply (for a quick overview of the differences between the current and previous editions see the respective pages of the MLA Style Center. For an MLA formatting and style guide consult the Purdue Online Writing Lab). COPAS requires the use of a parenthetical system of documentation rather than footnotes or endnotes. Footnotes should be used sparingly and should be reserved for actual comments. Citations in parentheses within the text point to the respective entries in the works cited list. The latter should also only include sources actually referenced in the submission. 

Editorial Process

COPAS uses open peer review and editorial review. Open peer review for us means that the names of authors, reviewers, and editors are not anonymized during the review process. All submissions are initially assessed by the guest editors or by two designated editors from the COPAS editorial board (the specific COPAS editors are assigned to this role on a rotational basis). The COPAS editorial board and guest editors (where applicable) are responsible for selecting and processing submissions and make the eventual decision as to whether the articles can move on to the next step in the review process, in which authors are asked to implement revisions. The editorial board is responsible for the final decision regarding whether or not a submission is accepted for publication. In the case of special issues, the editorial board and guest editors are jointly responsible for the final decision regarding the acceptance or rejection of a submission. The average time between article submission and issue publication at COPAS is approximately 7.5 months.  

Article Processing Charges

COPAS is an open access journal, which requests zero article processing charges (APCs) from authors and zero fees for readers to access and download articles. This is possible thanks to the ongoing technical support from the University of Regensburg, and the academic support from our editorial board and guest editors. 

Copyright Notice

Authors who publish with COPAS agree to the following terms:  

  • Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) 4.0 License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgment of the work’s authorship and initial publication in this journal.  
  • Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal’s published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository, publish it in a journal or a book), with an acknowledgment of its initial publication in this journal.  
  • Authors are permitted to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories, disciplinary repositories, or on their website) prior to and during the submission process.  
  • Authors are responsible for, and required to ascertain that they are in possession of, image rights for any and all photographs, illustrations, and figures included in their work or to obtain publication or reproduction rights from the copyright holders.

Licensing Terms 

This journal provides immediate open access to its content on the principle that making research freely available to the public supports a greater global exchange of knowledge. A Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) 4.0 License applies to all content published in COPAS. Anyone may copy material published in COPAS for any purpose under the premise of proper attribution. All materials are published under an open-access license, with authors retaining full ownership of their work. Authors are responsible for, and required to ascertain that they are in possession of image rights for any and all photographs, illustrations, and figures included in their work or to obtain publication or reproduction rights from the copyright holders.  

By submitting their work for publication in COPAS, authors agree to the terms written above. Authors are free and encouraged to store their work elsewhere, for instance in institutional repositories or websites to increase circulation. Authors are also able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work with an acknowledgment of its initial publication in this journal. COPAS does not charge any reprint fees, and authors are not required to contact COPAS for reprint permission, as authors retain their copyright. 

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