The Pilgrimage Phenomenology Project

INSTRUCTIONS FOR AUTHORS 

[UPDATED: 2024-12-24 ]

Thank you for your abstract proposal for an autoethnographic "entrée into pilgrimage (and/or pilgrimage studies)" essay for The Pilgrimage Phenomenology Project. The following questions may help contextualize your essay.  

1. What brought you to pilgrimage (or pilgrimage studies)?  What “called” you to pilgrimage? 

2. Describe the experiences that were significant, special, or importantly memorable.  

3. Include your reflections, insights/revelations, and meanings you made.   

• Format:
  Microsoft Word (.docx) format. 1" margins, Times New Roman Font, 12 pt., double-spaced. 

• Narrative Voice: 

Please use the first-person singular perspective narrative voice in your autoethnographic essay (i.e., using the pronouns "I," "me", and "my").  If you use another narrative voice, such as first-person plural (we, us, our), please include an explanation/rationale in the essay.  The "third person omniscient" and "third person objective" narrative voices should be avoided or used sparingly. 

• References & Citations: 

Please keep track of your citations and references using a standard publishing style sheet such as the Chicago Manual of Style (CMOS), Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (APA), or the Modern Language Association's MLA Style Manual.
Be sure the essay does not replicate previously published (or "in press") material, but feel free to cite them, and/or include brief excerpts from them. Please obtain written permission to reprint longer excerpts from published material. 

• AI-Generated Content

Please use a LibGuide to cite AI-generated content in your essay and explain how you used AI for your essay.

• Word count:   

800 - 2,500 words for your autoethnographic essay.  

The full chapter,  including your autoethnographic essay and the edited transcript/narration of the follow-up interview/dialogue, is anticipated to be 5,000-7,000 words.

• Author Bio:
  Please attach a brief author bio (maximum 80 words) highlighting your interests and work relevant to pilgrimage phenomenology. 

• Due date:
  February 15, 2025 

• Submit your essay and author bio as attachments to pilgrimagephenomenology@gmail.com

After an internal peer review of your completed essay, we will conduct an interview/dialogue with each author. In this interview, you may go into more detail about the insights, meanings made, and transformations you discussed in your essay. In consultation with the essay author, the editorial team will select excerpts from the interview to include in or with the essay. 

If you also proposed to write an (optional) theme-based chapter: 

The theme-based chapter topics,  outline and content will be determined through consultation and collaboration between the editors and authors who have expressed interest in writing a theme-based chapter. 

The editors will consult with authors about authoring (or co-authoring) a theme-based chapter. 

The theme-based chapter will  include:

(a) selected themes and issues that emerged from the interviews/dialogues,  which will be coordinated and matched with

(b)  the author's proposed theme-based chapter abstract.

Anticipated word count: 5,000 - 8,000 words. 

The due date (estimated July 15, 2025) will be determined in consultation with invited authors.