Aims & Scope

Humanity: Jos Journal of General Studies (HJJGS) is a peer-reviewed, open-access multidisciplinary journal published by the Directorate of General Studies, University of Jos, Nigeria. It publishes original research papers, critical reviews and short communications across the humanities, the social sciences and education, together with work from law, the environmental and natural sciences, the health sciences and engineering that addresses a general academic readership. It gives particular attention to studies of Nigeria and Africa and to work that connects scholarship with national development, social cohesion and public life.

SUBJECT AREAS

• Language and linguistics — English language studies and English as a second language, syntax, morphology, phonology and semantics, the description of Nigerian and other African languages, pragmatics, stylistics, discourse and critical discourse analysis, political and media language, language acquisition, endangered languages, and language in education and national development.
• Literature — Nigerian and African literature in English, drama, fiction and poetry, feminist and gender-based criticism, trauma, conflict and social change in literary texts.
• Theatre, performing, visual and creative arts — theatre and performance, dance, music, film and Nollywood, festivals, fine and applied arts, textile design, and museums and cultural heritage.
• Religion, philosophy and ethics — Christian and Islamic studies, biblical studies and theology, religion and governance, religion and the environment, interfaith relations and peace-building, philosophy of education, ethics and moral values.
• History, culture and society — Nigerian and African history, the ethnography, origin and migration of peoples, inter-ethnic and inter-communal relations, local government and state creation, conflict and its resolution, and cultural heritage.
• Education — curriculum and pedagogy, teaching and learning in language, science, mathematics, history and social studies, educational management and administration, assessment, educational technology and e-learning, special needs education, and the teaching of General Studies.
• Media, communication and information — journalism, public relations, media literacy and disinformation, social media, public information management, and information access and use.
• Social, political and behavioural sciences — sociology, gender and women's studies, gender-based and domestic violence, the family, youth, substance abuse, psychology and counselling, political education, governance, democracy, security and citizenship, migration and population studies.
• Economics, management and entrepreneurship — economic development and diversification, agriculture and food security, entrepreneurship and SMEs, human resource management, organisational performance, marketing, insurance, and public sector reform.
• Law — legal aspects of governance, human rights, freedom of expression, labour and industrial relations, religious and customary law, and refugee protection, written for a general academic readership.
• Environmental, natural and health sciences — environment and climate change, water, energy and household resources, public and community health, nursing and health services, and science education, where the work addresses a societal or developmental question.

METHODS: empirical studies, qualitative and quantitative, including surveys, experiments and quasi-experiments, interviews and case studies, that state their population, sample, instrument and method of analysis; textual, literary, linguistic and discourse analysis; historical and archival research; ethnography and fieldwork; philosophical, theological and conceptual inquiry; doctrinal legal analysis; and critical reviews of literature, theory or policy. Every paper is expected to state its problem and objectives, engage the relevant literature, analyse rather than merely describe, and end with a conclusion and, where appropriate, recommendations.

MANUSCRIPT TYPES: original research papers, critical reviews, personal views and short communications. Manuscripts are prepared in Microsoft Word in English, with a title, a running title of not more than five words, an abstract of not more than 250 words and three to five keywords. As the journal's guidelines set out, reviews may run to 6,000 words, research articles to 3,000 words, and technical notes, commentaries and short communications to 1,500 words. References follow the Harvard, APA or MLA style, consistently applied. Submissions must be original and neither published nor under consideration elsewhere.

READERSHIP: lecturers, researchers and postgraduate students in the humanities, social sciences and education; teachers and educational administrators; General Studies units in universities and colleges; policymakers, public servants and development practitioners; cultural, religious and civil society organisations; and general readers interested in Nigerian and African society.

OUT OF SCOPE: manuscripts already published or under consideration elsewhere; narrowly technical papers in engineering, the physical sciences, medicine or pharmacy written only for specialists, with no educational, social, cultural or developmental dimension; clinical case reports and laboratory studies with no societal question; opinion pieces, sermons, speeches and newspaper-style commentary not supported by evidence or scholarship; purely descriptive accounts that advance no argument and reach no finding; survey-based studies that do not report their population, sample and instrument; unrevised theses, dissertations, long essays and course papers; and manuscripts without references.