Addressing Representation Gaps in High-Impact Journals

The Institute's Centre for Latin American and Caribbean Studies (CLACS) will deliver a series of researcher development workshops that seek to improve representation of researchers from El Salvador, Jamaica, Peru and Colombia in leading international journals.

Working with local partner institutions, current and former journal editors will lead hands-on training focused on publishing skills, such as developing manuscripts and working with feedback. The programme will also run a one-to-one mentoring scheme and support the development of additional career-building skills such as applying for grants and writing collaboratively. It will focus on early career researchers based in the four above-mentioned countries of the Latin American and Caribbean region. The partner institutions involved are Universidad Centroamericana José Simeón Cañas in El Salvador, the University of the West Indies in Jamaica, Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú and Universidad de los Andes in Colombia.

Overall, the workshops will encourage critical reflection on how international journals aiming to include knowledge production from beyond Anglo-European regions may address structural barriers to publication. 

The programme will also develop a transnational community of practice through long-lasting connections and collaborations with the partner institutions and participants in the workshops.

The workshop programme is led by Dr Ainhoa Montoya, in collaboration with Dr Naomi Wells and Dr Joseph Ford. Dr Montoya said: 'We are very excited about the opportunity to deliver training for Latin American and Caribbean early career researchers in partnership with local scholars and institutions, and about the future opportunities for further collaborations that may open up as a result.'

The workshops will be delivered in conjunction with the Doctoral Centre at the School of Advanced Study. The Doctoral Centre already offers training for postgraduates and ECRs across the UK and beyond, and will support the design of the workshops and the development of digital learning resources for the benefit of early career researchers who will not attend the workshops.

The programme aligns with the School of Advanced Study’s (SAS) research promotion and facilitation mission. SAS is committed to generating the infrastructure, resources, and training that facilitates humanities research and promotes it through knowledge exchange. Its Institutes and Centres are dedicated to training the next generation of scholars through various initiatives and to fostering national and international networks.

The workshops are funded by the British Academy’s International Writing Workshops 2022 programme, which is supported under the UK Government’s Global Challenges Research Fund. The workshop programme will run until March 2025.