Humanities journal workflow (en-humanities-journal-workflow)
Purpose
This is the routing skill for the humanities bundle. It does not replace a
single-journal profile; it first classifies the manuscript by sub-field,
contribution type, and method/approach, then routes into the matching per-journal
skill for fit and re-framing. It is a sibling to en-natsci-journal-workflow,
en-engtech-journal-workflow, and en-journal-workflow.
Ask four things first
- Sub-field: history, philosophy, literary studies, classics, art/architectural
history, religious studies, linguistics, or musicology/aesthetics?
- Contribution type: an original argument or interpretation, a theoretical or
conceptual intervention, a recovery of new primary sources/evidence, a critical
edition or attribution, or a methodological/historiographical reframing?
- Approach: archival/empirical, close reading/textual, analytic/formal,
theoretical/critical, or object-/image-based?
- Audience: the whole field (a generalist flagship), a period/area specialty, or
a method/theory community?
Quick routing
| Manuscript signature |
Prefer skill |
| Broad, field-defining historical argument |
the-american-historical-review |
| Society/economy/culture history, problem-driven |
past-and-present / journal-of-social-history |
| Modern European/transnational history |
the-journal-of-modern-history |
| British/medieval/early-modern, archival |
the-english-historical-review |
| Early-American / Atlantic history |
the-william-and-mary-quarterly |
| Philosophy of history / historical method |
history-and-theory |
| Major analytic philosophy article |
the-philosophical-review / nous / the-journal-of-philosophy |
| Moral/political philosophy and ethics |
ethics / philosophy-and-public-affairs |
| Broad philosophy (esp. UK tradition) |
mind |
| Short, sharp philosophical note |
analysis |
| Field-defining literary/critical-theory essay |
pmla / critical-inquiry |
| Theory of literature / interpretive method |
new-literary-history |
| Historicist / material-culture literary study |
representations |
| Literary history, period-focused |
modern-language-quarterly |
| Cross-linguistic / world-literature comparison |
comparative-literature |
| Greek/Latin textual or interpretive scholarship |
the-classical-quarterly |
| Roman history / archaeology / material culture |
the-journal-of-roman-studies |
| Major art-historical argument (any period) |
the-art-bulletin |
| Theoretically engaged art history |
art-history / october |
| Connoisseurship / attribution / object study |
the-burlington-magazine |
| Religious-studies argument / theory |
the-journal-of-religion / history-of-religions |
| Biblical/theological/early-Christian scholarship |
harvard-theological-review |
| Core theoretical/empirical linguistics |
language / linguistic-inquiry |
| General linguistics / syntax-semantics theory |
journal-of-linguistics / natural-language-and-linguistic-theory |
| Historical/analytical musicology |
journal-of-the-american-musicological-society |
| Music theory and analysis |
music-theory-spectrum |
| Philosophical aesthetics / art criticism |
the-journal-of-aesthetics-and-art-criticism |
Sibling-journal disambiguation
| Confusable targets |
Decision rule |
the-philosophical-review vs nous vs the-journal-of-philosophy |
All are top generalist analytic venues; route by the article's length, sub-area conventions, and fit, and re-check current scopes — they are close substitutes. |
pmla vs critical-inquiry |
PMLA is the MLA's broad literary/language flagship; Critical Inquiry foregrounds theory and interdisciplinary critical intervention. |
the-art-bulletin vs october vs art-history |
The Art Bulletin is the CAA generalist flagship; October and Art History foreground critical/theoretical and contemporary engagement. |
the-american-historical-review vs a specialty history journal |
AHR wants broad significance across fields/periods; period- and area-specialist arguments often fit a specialty venue better. |
language vs linguistic-inquiry |
Language (LSA) is the broad disciplinary flagship; Linguistic Inquiry foregrounds generative theory — route by framework and audience. |
Generalist flagship vs analysis |
Analysis is for short, focused philosophical notes; a full-length argument belongs at a generalist venue. |
Decision rules
- Lead with the argument. A humanities article is judged on the originality and
force of its argument or interpretation, its command of sources, and its
contribution to a scholarly conversation — not on data volume.
- Sources and evidence. Primary-source command, archival rigor, accurate
quotation/translation, and engagement with the relevant scholarship are gating.
- Field, period, and theory fit. Match the period/area and the theoretical idiom to
the journal's actual conversation; a mis-pitched idiom is a common desk reject.
- House style is substantive. Citation style (Chicago, MLA, or a discipline style),
word limit, anonymization for double-blind review, and — for art history and
musicology — image/example rights and permissions are real gates.
- Generalist vs specialist. Generalist flagships need field-wide significance;
deep specialist work is often better served by a period/area journal.
- Always enter the single-journal skill's official-submission checklist before
submitting; never rely on a stale template.
Output format
[Top journal skill] <skill-name>
[Alt 1] <skill-name> (reason)
[Alt 2] <skill-name> (reason)
[Do not submit to] <journal> (one-line mismatch reason)
[Contribution type] argument / interpretation / theory / sources / edition
[Biggest current gap] argument-originality / source-command / field-fit / theory-idiom / house-style / official requirements
[Next step] invoke <skill-name> for single-venue fit and re-framing
Source: brycewang-stanford/Awesome-Journal-Skills → English-Humanities-Journal-Skills/skills/en-humanities-journal-workflow/SKILL.md
1---2name: en-humanities-journal-workflow3description: Use when deciding which English humanities journal skill to invoke next, comparing fit across the 36-journal humanities roadmap, or routing a manuscript before venue-specific re-framing. Routes by sub-field (history / philosophy / literary studies / classics / art history / religion / linguistics / musicology), contribution type (argument, interpretation, theory, edition), and the venue's house style and review norms.4---5
6
7# Humanities journal workflow (en-humanities-journal-workflow)
8
9## Purpose
10
11This is the routing skill for the humanities bundle. It does not replace a
12single-journal profile; it first classifies the manuscript by **sub-field,
13contribution type, and method/approach**, then routes into the matching per-journal
14skill for fit and re-framing. It is a sibling to `en-natsci-journal-workflow`,
15`en-engtech-journal-workflow`, and `en-journal-workflow`.
16
17## Ask four things first
18
191. **Sub-field:** history, philosophy, literary studies, classics, art/architectural
20 history, religious studies, linguistics, or musicology/aesthetics?
212. **Contribution type:** an original argument or interpretation, a theoretical or
22 conceptual intervention, a recovery of new primary sources/evidence, a critical
23 edition or attribution, or a methodological/historiographical reframing?
243. **Approach:** archival/empirical, close reading/textual, analytic/formal,
25 theoretical/critical, or object-/image-based?
264. **Audience:** the whole field (a generalist flagship), a period/area specialty, or
27 a method/theory community?
28
29## Quick routing
30
31| Manuscript signature | Prefer skill |
32|---|---|
33| Broad, field-defining historical argument | `the-american-historical-review` |
34| Society/economy/culture history, problem-driven | `past-and-present` / `journal-of-social-history` |
35| Modern European/transnational history | `the-journal-of-modern-history` |
36| British/medieval/early-modern, archival | `the-english-historical-review` |
37| Early-American / Atlantic history | `the-william-and-mary-quarterly` |
38| Philosophy of history / historical method | `history-and-theory` |
39| Major analytic philosophy article | `the-philosophical-review` / `nous` / `the-journal-of-philosophy` |
40| Moral/political philosophy and ethics | `ethics` / `philosophy-and-public-affairs` |
41| Broad philosophy (esp. UK tradition) | `mind` |
42| Short, sharp philosophical note | `analysis` |
43| Field-defining literary/critical-theory essay | `pmla` / `critical-inquiry` |
44| Theory of literature / interpretive method | `new-literary-history` |
45| Historicist / material-culture literary study | `representations` |
46| Literary history, period-focused | `modern-language-quarterly` |
47| Cross-linguistic / world-literature comparison | `comparative-literature` |
48| Greek/Latin textual or interpretive scholarship | `the-classical-quarterly` |
49| Roman history / archaeology / material culture | `the-journal-of-roman-studies` |
50| Major art-historical argument (any period) | `the-art-bulletin` |
51| Theoretically engaged art history | `art-history` / `october` |
52| Connoisseurship / attribution / object study | `the-burlington-magazine` |
53| Religious-studies argument / theory | `the-journal-of-religion` / `history-of-religions` |
54| Biblical/theological/early-Christian scholarship | `harvard-theological-review` |
55| Core theoretical/empirical linguistics | `language` / `linguistic-inquiry` |
56| General linguistics / syntax-semantics theory | `journal-of-linguistics` / `natural-language-and-linguistic-theory` |
57| Historical/analytical musicology | `journal-of-the-american-musicological-society` |
58| Music theory and analysis | `music-theory-spectrum` |
59| Philosophical aesthetics / art criticism | `the-journal-of-aesthetics-and-art-criticism` |
60
61## Sibling-journal disambiguation
62
63| Confusable targets | Decision rule |
64|---|---|
65| `the-philosophical-review` vs `nous` vs `the-journal-of-philosophy` | All are top generalist analytic venues; route by the article's length, sub-area conventions, and fit, and re-check current scopes — they are close substitutes. |
66| `pmla` vs `critical-inquiry` | PMLA is the MLA's broad literary/language flagship; Critical Inquiry foregrounds theory and interdisciplinary critical intervention. |
67| `the-art-bulletin` vs `october` vs `art-history` | The Art Bulletin is the CAA generalist flagship; October and Art History foreground critical/theoretical and contemporary engagement. |
68| `the-american-historical-review` vs a specialty history journal | AHR wants broad significance across fields/periods; period- and area-specialist arguments often fit a specialty venue better. |
69| `language` vs `linguistic-inquiry` | Language (LSA) is the broad disciplinary flagship; Linguistic Inquiry foregrounds generative theory — route by framework and audience. |
70| Generalist flagship vs `analysis` | Analysis is for short, focused philosophical notes; a full-length argument belongs at a generalist venue. |
71
72## Decision rules
73
74- **Lead with the argument.** A humanities article is judged on the originality and
75 force of its argument or interpretation, its command of sources, and its
76 contribution to a scholarly conversation — not on data volume.
77- **Sources and evidence.** Primary-source command, archival rigor, accurate
78 quotation/translation, and engagement with the relevant scholarship are gating.
79- **Field, period, and theory fit.** Match the period/area and the theoretical idiom to
80 the journal's actual conversation; a mis-pitched idiom is a common desk reject.
81- **House style is substantive.** Citation style (Chicago, MLA, or a discipline style),
82 word limit, anonymization for double-blind review, and — for art history and
83 musicology — image/example rights and permissions are real gates.
84- **Generalist vs specialist.** Generalist flagships need field-wide significance;
85 deep specialist work is often better served by a period/area journal.
86- Always enter the single-journal skill's official-submission checklist before
87 submitting; never rely on a stale template.
88
89## Output format
90
91```text
92[Top journal skill] <skill-name>
93[Alt 1] <skill-name> (reason)
94[Alt 2] <skill-name> (reason)
95[Do not submit to] <journal> (one-line mismatch reason)
96[Contribution type] argument / interpretation / theory / sources / edition
97[Biggest current gap] argument-originality / source-command / field-fit / theory-idiom / house-style / official requirements
98[Next step] invoke <skill-name> for single-venue fit and re-framing
99```
100
101---
102
103**Source:** [`brycewang-stanford/Awesome-Journal-Skills`](https://github.com/brycewang-stanford/Awesome-Journal-Skills) → `English-Humanities-Journal-Skills/skills/en-humanities-journal-workflow/SKILL.md`
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