Abbreviated title (ISO 4) Signs Language English Publication history 1975-present | Discipline Women's studies Edited by Suzanna Danuta Walters | |
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Publisher University of Chicago Press (United States) | ||
Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society is a peer-reviewed feminist academic journal. It was established in 1975 by Catharine R. Stimpson, and is published quarterly by the University of Chicago Press.
Contents
Scope
Signs publishes essays examining women's and men's lives around the globe from both historical and contemporary perspectives, as well as theoretical and critical articles addressing processes of racialization, sexualization, and gendering. In 2015, Signs launched the "Feminist Public Intellectuals Project," which seeks to engage feminist theorizing with pressing political and social problems via three open-access, online-first initiatives: "Short Takes," "Currents," and "Ask a Feminist." Given the fragmentation of feminist activism and the persistent negative freighting of the moniker “feminist,” the "Feminist Public Intellectuals Project" seeks to genuinely reimagine what role a journal can play in provoking activism.
History
From 1975-1980, the founding editor-in-chief of Signs was Catharine R. Stimpson (Barnard College). From 1980-1985, the editor-in-chief was Barbara C. Gelpi (Stanford University). From 1985-1990, the editor-in-chief was Jean Fox O'Barr (Duke University). She was succeeded from 1990-1995 by Ruth-Ellen Boetcher Joeres and Barbara Laslett (University of Minnesota). From 1995-2000, the editors-in-chief were Carolyn Allen and Judith A. Howard (University of Washington), they were replaced in 2000 by Sandra Harding and Kathryn Norberg (University of California, Los Angeles), they served until 2005 when they were replaced by Mary Hawkesworth (Rutgers University). Since 2015, Suzanna Danuta Walters (Northeastern University) has been editor-in-chief. The journal was called "prestigious" in a French review article of women's studies in America.
Abstracting and indexing
The journal is abstracted and indexed in:
According to the Journal Citation Reports, the journal has a 2015 impact factor of 1.347, ranking it 8th out of 40 journals in the category "Women's Studies".