About

Presentation

Intermediality: History and Theory of the Arts, Literature and Technologies is a bilingual academic journal (French and English), publishing articles as well as contributions in research-creation, which encompass a variety of objects, mediums, and conceptual perspectives. In accordance with the journal’s mandate to valorize intermedial artistic practices, each issue also features the work of one or more guest artists.

With the purpose of deepening and renewing contextual approaches in the humanities, Intermediality examines the relationship between mediums, technologies, institutions, collective imaginaries and social discourses. It covers a wide range of disciplines including media studies, film studies, literature, history of art, and communications as well as architecture, anthropology, sociology, and philosophy.

The journal publishes two issues per year, grouped thematically around a single verb in the infinitive, which points to gestures, practices, or events to be explored in the context of their mediality.

Orientation of the Journal

Surpassing the frameworks of intertextuality and interdiscursivity, intermediality “observes that a work does not only function in its more or less evident debt to other works, or yet in its mobilization of discursive practices (usurped, whenever necessary), but also in recourse to the institutions which allow for its efficacy as well as through the medium or material support which determines its effectiveness. […] [T]he efficacy orchestrated by the institutions and the effectiveness brought about by the techniques and the materials ultimately produce effects of meaning” (Éric Méchoulan, Intermédialités, no. 1 “Naître,” 2003, p. 10).

From this perspective, the journal Intermediality proposes to approach cultural works and productions as processes of mediation, with the purpose of dislodging our reflection from narrower approaches, which limit it to the analysis of either information and entertainment media or yet art mediums. In its larger project, mediality can “account for modes of objectification, transmission and circulation of cultural expression in all its forms. It can thus designate objects and machines as much as discursive formations or forms of sociality” (Will Straw, Intermédialités, no. 26 “Habiter la nuit,” 2015, §10). In this sense, an intermedial analysis means paying special attention to the singularity of objects, environments and experiences as well as trusting their heuristic potential. Yet importantly, the intermedial analysis does not privilege technological determinism, nor does it aim to identify macrosocial logics, all the while remaining attentive to the structuring effects of various forms of materiality implicated in the production of meaning.

As an interdisciplinary journal, Intermediality distinguishes itself in its emphasis on a theoretical as well as a historical contextualization: the journal welcomes a wide range of conceptual perspectives and embraces the idea of a necessary methodological and theoretical diversity, responding to the particularity of the proposed case studies. Thanks to this openness, the journal aims to constitute an arena for conceptual inventiveness in the study of the relationships between cultural expressions and social practices. Finally, Intermediality attributes an important role to contemporary art practices in their capacity to engage, reflect and think through the intermedial.

Editorial policy and ethics

Editorial Policy

The journal publishes two issues per year. Each issue is edited by a guest researcher or a member of the Editorial Board and encompasses a broad range of objects, topics, and disciplines, fostering historical and geographical diversity.

Headings

The journal publishes primarily scientific articles, which propose theoretical discussions on the concept of intermediality as well as case studies selected by virtue of their heuristic qualities. In addition to the scientific contributions, which are often attached to a theme, a “Research-Creation” section presents articles and works incorporating a creative process in the scientific research. Each issue also features the work of one or more guest artists, presented under the “Guest Artist” rubric. These original works inform both the issue’s specific theme and the journal’s overall orientation. Furthermore, Intermediality proposes a section entitled “Counterpoints,” conceived as an open space for debates by researchers and artists who are invited to submit a response to a recently featured text, artistic work, or theme in the journal. “Counterpoints” also features radio segments, coproduced by the journals Intermediality and Circuit and available online on the web radio Globe sonore.  

Peer Review Policy

Every submission undergoes an anonymous double-blind peer-review process, during which the paper is evaluated by at least two independent researchers working in a relevant field as well as two members of Intermediality’s Editorial Board or International Committee.

The criteria of evaluation for scientific papers are as follows:

• pertinence and originality of the text (contribution to the field, originality and pertinence of the approach or perspective);

• methodology (conceptual framework, argumentation, structure, methodological coherence);

• research (quality of the documentation, awareness of the critical debates in the field);

• quality of language and style (stylistic coherence, syntax, overall structure).

In order to address the specificity of creation as a research process, Intermediality has established a separate protocol for the evaluation of research-creation submissions. Research-creation texts are first evaluated anonymously by independent experts, be they researchers or artists/creators, and next submitted for an evaluation by at least two members of the Editorial Board or members of the International Committee specializing in research-creation.

The criteria of evaluation for research-creation submissions are as follows:

• artistic/technical merit in the execution and/or documentation;

• methodology (clarity of the proposed problematics and consistency/relevance of the approach with regards to the key objectives pursued);

• connections drawn between research and creation;

• pertinence and originality of the project.

Please note that with regards to research-creation submissions, the anonymous peer-review process is guaranteed as far as the public presentation of the work allows it.

Copyrights

It should be noted that the texts published by Intermediality are the sole responsibility of their authors. No submission material will be returned to the author. Submitting an article or other material to Intermediality implies the authors’ consent to their free publication and the transfer of the copyright. In accordance with international standards of online publication, the online platform Érudit offers a digital infrastructure policy that ensures the publication, referencing, and preservation of data. Therefore, self-archiving is not allowed. Please also note that Intermediality is permanently archived on Portico.

Intermediality respects and acknowledges intellectual property rights. All images and audiovisual materials published in the journal are protected by copyright. The editors are thankful to the copyright holders who have granted permission for the reproduction of the above-mentioned materials. Nonetheless, it should be noted that in some cases the tracking down of copyright holders is not possible. If you, therefore, suspect a copyright violation, we invite you to contact us and submit a detailed report for evaluation. Intermediality will withdraw the work published without authorization at the explicit request of copyright holders.

Plagiarism Policy

Plagiarism occurs when authors fail to identify and provide the sources for someone else’s work that they have used or when they copy that work. This also includes self-plagiarism, that is, when authors use part of a text that they have previously written without mentioning or referencing its use. Therefore, the authors must commit to submit original and unpublished contributions in French or English. In case of partial reprints of previously published texts, these must be minor, supplementary, always properly cited, and their use must be justified, otherwise the article will be rejected or withdrawn from publication.

Intermediality does not tolerate plagiarism and guards against it by carrying out spot checks, either before publication, during peer review or throughout the copyediting process. Editorial assistants, reviewers, Editorial Board members as well as copyeditors and proofreaders are required to report any signs of plagiarism. In particular, the editorial assistants have the task to check and double-check the submitted texts and their related sources, using the Viper software if necessary.

In case of plagiarism, the journal will ask the author to rewrite the text and to make the appropriate corrections concerning the sources used. If plagiarism is detected after publication, the article will be removed from the issue. The journal’s Editorial Board will inform the author of this and will ask him or her to make the necessary modifications. If the author refuses or if the case of plagiarism is serious, the article will be permanently withdrawn for reasons of plagiarism and indicated as such, and the author will be prohibited from future publications in the journal.

Submission Guidelines for Articles

1. Along with their texts, authors should also submit:

a) an abstract of their article in both English and French (approximately 5 to 10 lines of text);

b) a biographical note (approximately 5 lines of text) that reflects the author’s professional status and a list of important publications.

2. Authors should:

a) indicate, on the first page of their manuscript: 1) the title of the essay, 2) their full name, 3) their institutional affiliation;

b) format their manuscript as follows: all pages should be typewritten or printed in 12- point Times font; the text should be fully justified and printed on the reverse side only; footnotes should be set in 12-point Times and single-spaced. All bibliographical references should be integrated in the footnotes, with care taken to include precise page numbers; superscript footnote numbers should appear in the text at the proper place (i.e., as soon as the reference in question is brought into the discussion);

c) limit their final manuscripts to a maximum of twenty pages (double-spaced), which corresponds to 6,000 words or 40,000 signs (including spaces). You may exceed the word limit by 1,000 words at your discretion. If you foresee a substantially longer text, please contact us before you proceed;

d) provide, when pertinent, audio files, video files with a resolution of minimum 480p, or still images as high-contrasted prints on glossy paper, 8” x 10” (20cm x 25cm) or as TIFF or JPEG files with a minimum resolution of 300 dpi. We remind you that Intermediality is an electronic publication and can, therefore, accommodate multimedia. If you are not using royalty-free or public-domain material, please make sure to obtain reproduction rights for your article from copyright holders. Upon request, we can provide you with an attestation letter or a sample document requesting reproduction rights (see the section “Guides and Documents” on our website www.intermedialites.com);

e) send an electronic version of all materials and text by e-mail, Dropbox, or WeTransfer to the following address: intermedialites@gmail.com.

Author Guidelines

Editorial board

Editor

James Cisneros, Université de Montréal

Former Editors

Eric Méchoulan, Université de Montréal (founder)

Johanne Lamoureux, Université de Montréal

Philippe Despoix, Université de Montréal

Marion Froger, Université de Montréal

Editorial Board

Karine Abadie, Memorial University of Newfoundland

Caroline Bem, Université Saint-Paul

Rémy Besson, Université de Montréal / TECHNÈS

Marta Boni, Université de Montréal

Renée Bourassa, Université Laval

Abigail E. Celis, Université de Montréal

Katharina Clausius, Université de Montréal

Michael Darroch, York University 

Sébastien Févry, Université catholique de Louvain

Mary Hunter, McGill University

Aleksandra Kaminska, Université de Montréal

Katharina Niemeyer, Université du Québec à Montréal

Viva Paci, Université du Québec à Montréal

Ghislain Thibault, Université de Montréal

Supervisor of the Web Radio Contrepoints Supplement 

Philippe Despoix, Université de Montréal
(en collaboration avec Globe Sonore et Circuit, musiques contemporaines)

International Scientific Committee

Mieke Bal, Universiteit van Amsterdam

Marta Braun, Ryerson University

Laurent Guido, Université de Lille

Ute Holl, Universität Basel

Ségolène Le Men, Université Paris X Nanterre / ITEM (CNRS/ENS)

Georges Leroux, Université du Québec à Montréal

Philippe Marion, Université catholique de Louvain

Walter Moser, Université d'Ottawa

Karl Sierek, Université Friedrich-Schiller d’Iéna

Peter Szendy, Université Paris X Nanterre / Cité de la musique

Hans Ulrich Gumbrecht, Stanford University

William Uricchio, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Editorial Secretaries and Diffusion Supervisors

Gabrielle Pannetier Leboeuf, Université de Montréal

Pauline Sarrazy, Université de Montréal

Charlotte Van der Elst, Université de Montréal

Web Designers

Renée Lamothe

Jean-Sébastien Beaulieu