Queer Academia is an initiative under Mendlife Foundation, that seeks to create a space for amplifying queer voices in the Indian academic discourse. Owing to a largely hetero-patriarchal society, the queer discourse in India is sparse and limited. Apart from a few cosmopolitan urban spaces, the gay/lesbian/transgender identity in India is generally seen as pathologized and many individuals from the LGBTQIA+ community face rampant homophobia and social-ostracism. Even in urban spaces, queer identity is othered and is seen as a result of Western intervention. As Kaustav Bakshi and Rohit K Dasgupta remark in their book Queer Studies: Texts, Contexts, and Praxis (Orient Black Swan, 2019): queer identity in India is “reprimanded as a Western import” (13). Owing to such bigotry against the queer community, it becomes imperative to craft a narrative for queer voices. Queer Academia believes in the power of words to challenge the heteronormative claim to truth, by synchronizing action and iconoclasm. It aims to establish a platform to generate discussions and debates around issues that greatly affect queer identities in India. The many concerns which Queer Academia seeks to engage in, range from the following (but not limited to): queer historiography, representation of queer bodies in media, socio-political issues around LGBTQIA+ rights in India, queer pedagogy, mental health, HIV-AIDS crisis and its impact on queer individuals, trans-rights and more. It welcomes voices from both professional academics as well as budding writers and scholars to contribute to this burgeoning discourse on queer rights.
Want to submit your writing work?
WHAT DO WE PUBLISH
Queer-feminist analysis of politics, education, public health, culture, casteism, racism, sexual harassment, technology, dissent, mental health, sexuality, disability, relationships, art, and intersectionality in the form of listicles, essays, articles, research papers, and dissertations. We want everyone who submits a pitch to look over our website to get a sense of what we've previously published.
Books: Fiction and Non-fiction on Queer themes.
Intersectional values such as anti-casteism, anti-racism, LGBTQIA+ affirming, pro-survivor of sexual violence, anti-carceral, anti-ableism, and others should be reflected in your content.
Word Limit: Articles should be between 800 to 1000 words, in rare cases we may accept 1200 words. Research papers and Dissertations can be maximum 4000 words.
Although Queer Academia is peer-reviewed, it sees peer review as an enabling mechanism for establishing support systems around work. As a result, peer review is not anonymous. Our team reviews the manuscript, provides feedback if required, and then publishes it once all reviewers and the author agree.
HOW TO SUBMIT YOUR WRITING WORK:
STEP 1
Please write a 200-word description of your writing piece and include it in the body of the mail.
STEP 2
Attach at least one previously published write-up in .PDF or .DOC formats OR include links (recommended) to your previous publications.
STEP 3
Explain why the content you're writing is valuable to readers.
STEP 4
If you have a final version (900-1000 words) that you'd want to share, please attach it as well as a 200-word description in the body of the email describing what it contains.
STEP 5
In the subject line of the mail please mention:
Your First Name/Topic of your pitch or draft/Publish
For example: Tanya/Queering Education/Publish
STEP 6
Email it to admin@mendlifefoundation.org