The changes to RoMES that have been heralded in recent issues have finally come to pass! MESA's Review of Middle East Studies is now a digital online journal, easy to access and saving lots of trees. Among the changes that readers will see is a new cover design, found on the journal's new homepage at Cambridge Journals Online (journals.cambridge.org/rms). The new online delivery also features (1) links to information about MESA; (2) instructions for review and article contributors, including (3) journal style sheets and guidelines for submissions; and (4) a link for submitting articles, essays, and field reports (see below). Note that book reviews are by invitation only from the editor or an associate editor. If you wish to review for RoMES, please send a short list of titles you are interested in reviewing and a copy of your CV to romes.vt@gmail.com.
FirstView. In future issues, MESA members and other RoMES subscribers will have access to individual articles and reviews as soon as they are ready for publication. Once the availability of an article or review is announced on the RoMES homepage, it will be available by clicking on the “FirstView” link.
Our job in the Virginia Tech home office of RoMES has been enhanced by the additional technical and editorial support from the professional staff at Cambridge University Press. Our presence on the websites of both the Middle East Studies Association (go to www.mesana.org and click on “RoMES”) and Cambridge Journals Online (journals.cambridge.org/rms) makes RoMES more widely available to scholars, students, and educated readers in North America and around the world.
I am happy to announce some changes in the RoMES editorial staff and editorial board since the last issue. Chris Calorusso has been promoted from assistant to managing editor. The promotion makes fuller use of her professional experience in academic journal editing. This will allow me to spend more time working with authors and scouting out potential contributors to RoMES on topics of scholarly relevance.
I am also happy to introduce our new associate editors (their names will appear in issue 49.2):
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Kenneth M. Cuno, University of Illinois (Egypt and North Africa)
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Heidi Lane, U.S. Naval War College (Contemporary Conflicts and Strategic Studies)
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Mary Ann Tétrault, Trinity University (in her new role as Associate Editor at Large)
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Nadia Yacub, University of North Carolina (Film and Drama)
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Bassam Yousif, Indiana State University (Economics and Political Economy)
For their several years of service on the editorial board, sincere thanks are due to:
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Paul Sedra, Simon Fraser University (Egypt and North Africa)
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Thomas B. Stevenson, Ohio University Zanesville (Film)
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Mary Ann Tétrault, Trinity University (Economics, Politics, and the Gulf)
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Sherifa Zuhur, Institute for Middle Eastern, Islamic, and Strategic Studies (Contemporary Conflicts and International Systems)
Finally, there are several ways to contribute to RoMES in addition to reviews of books, films, software, or websites (700–1,000 words). Review essays (2,000–4,000 words) critically examine several works on a specific topic in Middle East or Islamic studies and may include re-evaluations of canonical works in light of recent publications or disciplinary trends. Interim Reports from the Field (2,000–3,000 words) present discussions of emerging and noteworthy directions in the state of the art of Middle East studies. Emphasis is placed on the timeliness of topics, and therefore the content of field reports may be more preliminary or less resolved than that of traditional research articles or essays. Essays (up to 6,000 words) present informed commentary on a current problem or topical debate in Middle East studies. All of the above are subject to review and approval by the editor and select members of the editorial board.
Articles (up to 6,000 words) are scholarly works presenting original research. In addition to in-house vetting by the editor and select members of the editorial board, articles are subject to outside double-blind peer review. For more on submitting your work to RoMES, go to journals.cambridge.org/rms and click on “Instructions for Contributors.”
RoMES will continue to publish MESA's annual Audited Financial Statements, as well as the Presidential Address every other year.
