Open Peer Review
DH Unbound 2022 proposals will undergo open peer review. Names and affiliations of authors will be known to a proposal’s reviewer, while names and affiliations of the reviewer will be known to the authors. We are adopting open peer review for several reasons:
- Lack of consensus about how to anonymize submissions, which leads to proposals that are identifiable;
- The public nature of digital humanities scholarship, which means that anonymized submissions are not, in fact, guaranteed to be anonymous; and
- The lack of accountability in blind peer review, which can promote incivility in the review process.
Therefore, our use of open peer review is intended to mitigate the implicit inequities in the blind review process. We recognize, however, that open peer review raises issues with power dynamics, such as concerns that emerging scholars may have about evaluating an established scholar. To mitigate these issues, the Program Committee will carefully and thoughtfully assign reviewers and reviewers will have the right to refuse to review a submission for any reason. We also recognize that open peer review could contribute to increased bias. To mitigate this, we encourage reviewers to evaluate their biases and will provide clear guidance for their role in the review process. We are grateful to DH2020 Program Committee Chairs Laura Estill and Jennifer Guiliano for their work on open peer review, which influenced our approach for DH Unbound 2022.
Review Criteria
Our review criteria reflect the commitment to an expansive understanding of digital humanities and the sociopolitical nature of scholarship:
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Relevance to Conference Focus The proposal topic is connected to anti-racist work, Indigenous studies, culture and critical ethnic studies, intersectional feminism, postcolonial and decolonial studies, queer studies, and/or multilingualism. |
20% |
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Engagement with Relevant Scholarship The proposal explicitly engages with relevant scholarship and offers context within the current state of the fields in which it engages. Formal citations (in the author’s preferred style) are only required when using direct quotation. |
20% |
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Framework and Purpose The proposal offers clear theoretical, methodological, or pedagogical framework; concrete statement of purpose; and explicit articulation of the sociopolitical implications of the work. |
20% |
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Applicability, Significance, and Value The proposal articulates the applicability, significance, and value of the theoretical, methodological, and/or practical contribution to digital humanities generally. |
20% |
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Overall Recommendation The proposal is organized effectively and offers a clear articulation of presentation content. |
20% |
Review Timeline
The review period will begin on January 18, 2022 and end on February, 18, 2022.
Notifications about acceptance or rejection will be made by March 1, 2022. Reviews will also be made available upon notification.
