About

East/West: Journal of Ukrainian Studies (EWJUS) is a scholarly, peer-reviewed, online periodical, publishing original research articles, reviews and review articles.

EWJUS encourages submission in English of previously unpublished work by academics, graduate students, and policymakers. The journal welcomes thematic issues by guest editors and original scholarship presented at conferences; it is open to sponsoring online forums for scholarly debates and exchanges. The journal accepts research that incorporates web technologies and multimedia (e.g., audio and visual materials). The focus and themes of the journal include, but are not limited, to the following: Ukraine and its neighbors; Ukrainian humanities and social sciences in a comparative and interdisciplinary perspective; the Early Modern, Modern, and Contemporary periods; cultural geography and geopolitics; empires, regions, borders and borderlands; dominant and subordinate cultures; collective identities, gender, multiculturalism, nationalism; and the sociocultural foundations of modernization.

Journal History
East/West: Journal of Ukrainian Studies replaces two venerable publications: Skhid/Zakhid, issued by the Kowalsky Eastern Ukrainian Institute in Kharkiv since 1998; and the Journal of Ukrainian Studies, published by CIUS since 1976.

Editorial policy and ethics

Editorial and Peer Review Policies

EWJUS accepts for review previously unpublished manuscripts, written in English, that are not under consideration by another journal.

(Note: Authors may submit articles in other languages but only for purposes of initial evaluation and feedback. If an article is deemed suitable by the editor, the author will be required to submit the manuscript in English for the formal peer review process).

The editor and/or the editorial board are the initial reviewers of articles; they make a preliminary judgment about the appropriateness of the article for the journal, the quality and clarity of the text and check for adherence to the journal’s stylistic, bibliographic and formatting criteria (see Submissions). Submissions that do not meet these basic standards will be rejected.

Articles that pass the initial screening undergo a double blind review process by outside reviewers selected by the editor and/or the editorial board. Referees are scholars with known reputations and expertise in the same field as the submitting author. They are invited to review the article by being sent the title and abstract; on agreeing, they receive access to the full text with the author’s name removed.

Referees write an assessment, recommending acceptance or not. An article must receive at least two positive reviews to be published. In some cases, e.g., if the assessment is vague or noncommittal, the opinion of another referee will be sought.

Authors receive copies of all the anonymous written appraisals and are required to address any deficiencies. Manuscripts that show promise but are not ready for publication are returned to the author for further work and are then subject to a second review.

Normally, peer reviews take between 4 and 6 months, depending on the availability of appropriate referees.

Copyright Notice 

Ⓒ 2021 Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies, University of Alberta, and EWJUS (East-West: Journal of Ukrainian Studies). For permissions and other inquiries, please contact the Editor-in-Chief: kryss@macewan.ca

Author's Rights

The Author transfers and assigns to EWJUS (East-West: Journal of Ukrainian Studies) and the CIUS (Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies), during the full term of copyright and any extensions or renewals of that term, all copyright in and to the Work published in EWJUS by the Author, including but not limited to the right to publish, republish, transmit, sell, distribute and otherwise use the Work in electronic and print editions of EW:JUS and in derivative works throughout the world, in all languages and in all media now known or later developed, and to license or permit others to do so.

Notwithstanding the above, EWJUS grants back to the Author the following distinct rights: 

1. The non-exclusive right to use, reproduce, distribute, publicly perform, and publicly display the Work in any medium in connection with the Authors’ academic and professional activities, including but not limited to teaching, conference presentations, and lectures. 
2. The non-exclusive right to create derivative works from the Work. 
3. The non-exclusive right to make full use of the Work in future research and publications, including the right to republish the Work in whole or in part in any book that one or more of the Authors may write or edit after the Work has appeared. 

The Author represents and warrants that the Work is the original work of the Authors and that it does not violate or infringe the law or the rights of any third party and, specifically, that the Work contains no matter that is defamatory or that infringes any literary or proprietary rights, intellectual property rights, or any rights of privacy. The Author also warrants that he or she has the full power to make this agreement, and if the Work was prepared jointly, the Author agrees to inform the Authors of the terms of this Agreement and to obtain their written permission to sign on their behalf. The Author agrees to hold the Journal harmless from any breach of the above-mentioned representations.

Works published by EWJUS are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. Under the terms of this license:

• You must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made. You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses you or your use.
• You may not use the material for commercial purposes.
• If you remix, transform, or build upon the material, you may not distribute the modified material

Digital Archiving Policy

This journal is archived with the Public Knowledge Project (PKP) Preservation Network and Scholars Portal Journals. These programs offer a decentralized and distributed preservation, perpetual access, and preservation of the authentic original version of the content. 

Anti-Plagiarism and Ethical Policies

East/West: Journal of Ukrainian Studies is committed to upholding the highest standards in research publication ethics and fully endorses the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) international standards for editors and authors. EWJUS bases its ethical guidelines on the research publication ethics, developed by the COPE, and outlines the following expectations for authors, reviewers, and editor(s).

Authors must:

• Verify that their work is original and that it does not reuse significant parts of author(s)' previous publications, that it adheres to standards of academic integrity, that it is not under consideration for publication elsewhere and that it was not published previously in English or any other language, and that its sources are accurately cited.
• Report all contributors accurately.
• Disclose any funding or other support that may constitute a conflict of interest.
• Follow the journal’s specific guidelines for submission and promptly consult with the editor for clarification.
• Notify the editor immediately if an error is noticed before or after publication, and co-operate with the editor in rectifying the mistake.
• Respond to reviewers’ comments in a professional and timely manner.
• Where relevant, include a note that reported research received the appropriate approval and was carried out ethically, and if requested by editor or guest editor(s), supply corresponding evidence (e.g., copies of ethics approvals, licenses, participant consent forms).
• Obtain permissions to reproduce all images/figures/tables included in the submission, unless produced by the author(s) themselves or cited from a published source, and include permission/attribution in captions.

Reviewers must:

• Maintain the integrity of the review process by not disclosing any information about the submitted manuscript to anyone except the journal editor or guest editor(s).
• At any point in the review process, disclose any and all conflicts of interest, biases, and lack of expertise that would prevent their complete objectivity in manuscript review, or time constraints that would prevent them from completing the assigned review.
• Provide constructive, specific, and supported feedback on the quality of the manuscript’s clarity and citations, without allowing personal preferences to affect their evaluation.
• Notify the journal editor or guest editor(s) immediately if they suspect a breach in confidentiality or research misconduct.
• Notify the journal editor or guest editor(s) if any part of this policy is unclear.

Editor(s) must:

• Be accountable for all publications.
• Evaluate all submissions objectively, based solely on their merit and suitability for the journal, and to not be influenced by the identity of the author, the source of funding, conflicts of interest, or journal publisher.
• Promptly investigate alleged misconduct, whether the article is published or unpublished, and follow the COPE guidelines for article retraction (for more details, see below).
• Regularly review and update policies and clearly communicate specific guidelines to editorial staff, authors, and reviewers.
• Take responsibility for the quality of the peer review process by rigorously following a double-blind method of manuscript review, monitoring the quality of reviewers’ work, protecting confidentiality of authors and reviewers during the review process, and ensuring that the reviewers are objective and have the appropriate expertise.

Research Misconduct and Retraction

The editorial team of East/West: Journal of Ukrainian Studies will take reasonable steps to identify and prevent the publication of papers where research misconduct has occurred, including plagiarism, citation manipulation, and data falsification/fabrication, among others. In the event that the editor(s) are made aware of any allegation of research misconduct relating to a published article in their journal, the editor(s) shall follow the COPE guidelines in dealing with allegations.

The editor(s) will:

• Pursue cases of suspected misconduct, even in submissions that have not and are not intended to be published;
• Act politely, fairly but firmly at all times;
• Address and respond to all complaints about suspected research misconduct;
• [Not] accuse authors or reviewers but instead state the facts clearly and provide corresponding evidence;
• Allow authors or reviewers a chance to explain their actions before coming to a decision;
• Always be willing to publish corrections, clarifications, retractions and apologies when needed;
• [Not], as a rule, publish their own research in the journal and/or ensure that the peer review of their submission is handled independently (by the guest editor(s) or a member of the editorial board who will ensure its anonymity).

Editors will consider retraction in the following cases:

• Evidence of falsification;
• Plagiarism;
• Failure to disclose that the article has been published previously (either in English or in a different language) and failure to obtain proper permission for republishing;
• Copyright infringement;
• Evidence of unethical research, including a recycling of previously published material that is falsely presented as new research and constitutes the majority of the publication;
• Evidence of manipulated or compromised peer review process;
• Failure to disclose a competing interest.

Retraction notice stating who is retracting the article and why will be attached to the article’s published version. Prior to publishing the notice, the editor(s) will discuss the wording of a retraction with the author(s), ensuring it is clear, objective, and informative. The final decision about retracting material rests with the editor(s).

Editorial board

Editorial Team

Editor-in-Chief
Dr. Serhiy Bilenky, Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies, Canada

Managing Editor and Book Review Editor
Tania Plawuszczak-Stech, Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies, Canada

Editors Emeriti
Emeritus Professor Oleh S Ilnytzkyj, University of Alberta, Canada
Prof. Svitlana (Lana) Krys, MacEwan University, Canada

Editorial Board

Prof. Laada Bilaniuk, University of Washington, United States
Prof. Giovanna Brogi, University of Milan, Italy
Dr. Hanna Chuchvaha, University of Calgary, Canada
Prof. Teresa Chynczewska-Henel, University of Białystok, Poland
Prof. Olexiy Haran, National University of Kyiv Mohyla Academy, Ukraine
Emeritus Professor Bohdan Harasymiw, University of Calgary and University of Alberta, Canada
Prof. Tamara Hundorova, Institute of Literature of the NAS of Ukraine, Ukraine
Emeritus Professor Oleh S Ilnytzkyj, University of Alberta, Canada
Prof. Natalia Khanenko-Friesen, University of Alberta, Canada
Dr. Zenon E Kohut, University of Alberta, Canada
Professor Emerita Natalie Kononenko, University of Alberta, Canada
Prof. Volodymyr Kravchenko, Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies, University of Alberta
Prof. Svitlana (Lana) Krys, MacEwan University, Canada
Prof. Volodymyr Kulikov, Ukrainian Catholic University, Ukraine
Prof. Kimitaka Matsuzato, Tokyo University, Japan
Prof. Alla Nedashkivska, University of Alberta, Canada
Prof. Joseph F. Patrouch, University of Alberta, Canada
Emeritus Professor Marko Pavlyshyn, Monash University, Australia
Prof. Maryna Romanets, University of Northern British Columbia, Canada
Dr. Marko Robert Stech, CIUS, University of Alberta, Canada
Prof. Frank Sysyn, University of Alberta, Canada
Prof. Tatiana Tairova, St. Petersburg State University, Russian Federation
Prof. Serhy Yekelchyk, University of Victoria, Canada