The Black Scholar invites submissions for a special issue on “Adjacency,” an exploration of alternative cultural expressions that exceed ostensibly primordial understandings of Blackness. In a sociocultural landscape that attempts to confine Black identities to a limited set of signifiers and practices, Adjacency draws attention to the inventive, improvisational capacities of Black folks across space and time. If we take seriously Paul Gilroy’s assertion that Black Atlantic identities are “always unfinished, always being remade” (1993, xi), then Black Studies would stand to benefit from welcoming the far reaches of our communities into the fold of what merits rigorous, in-depth, co-creative study.
Though recent special issues within the journal have created apertures in the project for folks across the spectrum of Black experience, there is still a dearth of work that speaks with/alongside those of us who do not fit neatly into hegemonic configurations of Blackness. To this end, we are especially interested in submissions that center:
- neurodivergent/disabled folks
- sex/body workers and erotic economies
- alt Black cultural producers
- Blerds (e.g. animation, video games, comics)
- polyamory and ethical non-monogamy
- kink, fetish, BDSM, pornography
- speculation and imagination (e.g. science fiction, fantasy, futurism, horror)
- technology and sustainability in the time of AI
- third spaces (e.g. communal living, collective ownership, anarchist bookstores)
Adjacency mobilizes visual culture, performance, film, music, and other media forms to experiment with aliveness (Quashie 2021), doing rather than naming, defining, or otherwise limiting Blackness. As such, we encourage submissions that take cross-, inter-, un-, and transdisciplinary approaches to the theme, as well as contributions from artists, organizers, and other practitioners working at the fringes of Blackness. We also welcome transcriptions of interviews and roundtables.
Completed submissions must be submitted to TBS via Taylor & Francis by December 1, 2026. Peer reviewed articles should range from 5,000 to 7,500 words, while non-reviewed essays, roundtables, and interviews should range from 4000-5000 (all counts inclusive of endnotes). Before submission, authors must review the journal mandate and guidelines, ensure proper formatting, and secure permissions to use third-party materials. Submissions that do not follow the guidelines will be returned and/or delayed.
Adjacency: Black Alternatives will be published as issue 57.4 (Winter 2027).
Guest Editors
Joshua K Reason, PhD jkreason@sfsu.edu
Alexandria C. Cunningham, PhD a.cunningham16@icloud.com
Suzanne Nimoh, PhD suzanne.nimoh@gmail.com
*For questions regarding TBS’s guidelines, permissions for third-party material, or deadlines, please contact the managing editor, Shannon Hanks-Mackey, at hanks@theblackscholar.org
