General Call for Papers
All articles submitted should be original work and must not be under consideration by other publications.
The International Journal of Islamic Architecture (IJIA) publishes bi-annually, peer-reviewed articles on the urban design and planning, architecture and landscape architecture of the historic Islamic world, encompassing the Middle East and parts of Africa and Asia, but also the more recent geographies of Islam in its global dimensions. The main emphasis is on the detailed analysis of the practical, historical and theoretical aspects of architecture, with a focus on both design and its reception. The journal also aims to encourage dialogue and discussion between practitioners and scholars. Articles that bridge the academic-practitioner divide are highly encouraged.
While the main focus is on architecture, papers that explore architecture from other disciplinary perspectives, such as art, history, archaeology, anthropology, culture, spirituality, religion and economics are also welcome. The journal is specifically interested in contemporary architecture and urban design in relation to social and cultural history, geography, politics, aesthetics, technology and conservation. Spanning across cultures and disciplines, IJIA seeks to analyse and explain issues related to the built environment throughout the regions covered. The audience of this journal includes both practitioners and scholars. The journal publishes both online and in print. The first issue was published in January 2012.
IJIA is now soliciting manuscripts in the following categories:
1. Design in Theory - DiT manuscripts focus on the history, theory and critical analyses of architecture, urban planning and design and landscape architecture. Essays submitted should be a minimum of 5,000 words but no more than 8,000 words. (Notes are included in the word count).
2. Design in Practice - DiP manuscripts focus on the practice of architecture, planning and landscape design as well as pedagogy. It is preferential that DiP papers address contextual and/or conceptual issues, analysis or critique of proposals, design and construction processes or built projects. Submissions may also include practitioner reflections on lessons learned but should avoid purely descriptive content. Manuscripts should range from 3,500 to 5,000 words.
3. Book, Media and Exhibition reviews
For those interested in writing book/media/exhibition reviews for IJIA, please submit your CV and your areas of expertise and interest and the books/media/exhibition you wish to review to the Reviews Editor: ijiareviews@gmail.com for consideration.
Unsolicited book reviews will not be accepted. Generally, the length of the reviews should not exceed 1000 words for a one-book review essay and 1800 words for an essay that reviews multiple books.
4. Conference, Conference Panel, and Seminar Précis
IJIA will publish a record of seminars and conferences that focus exclusively or partially on the latest research and findings in Islamic art, architecture, design, and urbanism, including issues in architectural and urban development, history, and theory. This directive is increasingly important with the growing globalization of such events and the geographically dispersed nature of our readership. Preference will be given to conferences that take place outside of Europe and North America and those that will not be documented with a publication. Précis are written by an organizer of or participant in the event in order to present an overview and analysis of topics treated and the issues taken up, but moreover to provide a space for critical reflection on the event's proceedings. Conference, conference panel, and seminar précis should not exceed 1000 words.
5. Letters to the Editor
Letters and comments on articles and reviews published, editorial themes and topics should be addressed and sent to the Editor of the journal. Send letters to ijia@intellectbooks.com.
Email the editors at ijia@intellectbooks.com to submit a manuscript or for any additional questions or information.
Please include the following with any manuscript submission:
A Title Page with the following
A concise and informative title
The full names and affiliations of all authors; a 3–4 sentence bio on each author (with a maximum of 100 words per bio)
The full postal address, telephone number, and e-mail address of the corresponding author(s)
All e-mail and postal addresses must be valid for at least a year from time of submission.
Abstract and Keywords on page 2. This page should include the following:
- An abstract: an overview of no more than 200 words, summarizing the significant points of the article.
- Six keywords or two-word phrases defining the article should be included for indexing references to facilitate a reader's search. All keywords should be in lower case unless they are proper nouns or names.
- The word count for the full text, i.e. the body of text and all notes should be included.
Special Issue Call for Papers
“Gender and Architecture in the Islamic World: Restrictions, Reactions, and Actions”
Thematic volume planned for June 1, 2026
Proposal submission deadline: June 15, 2024
Guest Editor: Dr. Gül Kale, Carleton University
In-house editor: Dr. Alex Dika Seggerman, Rutgers University
Real and imagined spaces are inherently gendered based on widely accepted heteronormative and patriarchal ways of living, thereby affecting how buildings and cities are accessed, used, and experienced. Moreover, spatial practices associated with such heteronormative and gender binary systems impact design ideas that shape the built environment. The imposition of traditional gender roles in architecture from patriarchal and heteronormative views affect urban policy making, architectural education, and decision making in the building and transformation of cities. Even the word ‘architect’ was and still is often gendered both in historical and contemporary perceptions of the society due to the male-dominated professional field despite the involvement and contributions of women in the transformation of the built environment for centuries. Hence, space and gender are intrinsically linked and mutually construct one another. Against these complex yet urgent ongoing questions, this special issue of the International Journal of Islamic Architecture aims to interrogate the relation between gender and architecture focusing on feminist, queer, non-binary, and trans perspectives with an interdisciplinary approach from the past and present. However, in order to have a nuanced understanding of diverse dynamics shaping spaces and spatial practices, contributions will need to have an intersectional approach encompassing race, sexuality, age, disability, class, religion, and ethnicity. Moreover, studies must derive from specific social, cultural, and political contexts and localities to prevent essentialist approaches to Islamic and diasporic communities. This special issue raises questions around three themes: restrictions, reactions, and actions.
Editors welcome articles dealing with issues related to gender and architecture from an intersectional and interdisciplinary perspective, encompassing a wide variety of areas including, but not limited to, legal history, law, critical race theory, labour history, environmental history, history of emotions, and history of science.
Articles offering historical and theoretical analysis (Design in Theory; DiT) should be between 6000 and 8000 words. Those on design and practice (Design in Practice; DiP) should be between 3000 and 4000 words.
Practitioners, urbanists, art historians, specialists in literary, religious, and gender studies, curators, archivists, librarians, archaeologists, anthropologists, geographers, sociologists, and historians whose work resonates with the topic of this special issue are welcome to contribute discussions that address the critical themes of the journal. Collaboratively authored articles are also welcome.
Please send a title and a 400-word abstract to the guest editor, Gül Kale, Carleton University (IJIAgender@gmail.com), by June 15, 2024. Authors of proposals will be contacted by July 30, 2024, and may be requested to submit full article drafts for consideration by January 30, 2025. All submissions will undergo blind peer review, editing, and revision. View the full call here.
