Journal profile · Multiple
Critical Arts-South-North Cultural and Media Studies
ISSN 0256-0046 · eISSN 1992-6049 · Taylor & Francis
Critical Arts-South-North Cultural and Media Studies: CAS Zone 4 · Sociology (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 0.44; hybrid open access; APC charged, amount not published; review about 89 days (first decision after review, publisher); acceptance rate 10% (journal website); 77 articles in 2025; indexed in SSCI, AHCI and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Critical Arts-South-North Cultural and Media Studies is published by Taylor & Francis and is in Zone 4 of Sociology in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are South African History and Culture, African history and culture studies and Media Studies and Communication, together about 31.7% of its articles. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
From its inception, Critical Arts examined the relationship between texts and contexts, cultural formations and popular forms of expression, mainly within Africa, but after the 1994 transition in South Africa Critical Arts repositioned itself as a cultural and media studies journal. It extended its remit to include the South-North and East-West nexus, focusing on developing transdisciplinary epistemologies. Cutting edge theorisation (supported by empirical evidence) rather than the reporting of formulaic case studies are the preferred submissions. Submissions are sought from both established and new researchers, and recent topics have included political economy of the media, political communication, aboriginal indigeneity, the ethnographic turn in art, and of course cultural media studies. Submissions must, perhaps, aim to restore and develop the vision of earlier theorists and historians, for whom ‘culture’ was a kind of synthesis arising from the contradictions and complexities between and within human societies and the politics of nations. Under the pressures of globalization, this kind of understanding and meaning making becomes more relevant at every turn. Critical Arts seeks to profile those approaches to issues that are amenable to a cultural studies-derived interventions, on the basis that ‘culture’ is a dynamic marker of deeper and shifting continuities, the immediate and often rapid conflicts under the fire of which so many must somehow live their lives. Early contributions of Critical Arts can be accessed via the Michigan State University eJournals project: http://digital.lib.msu.edu/projects/africanjournals/ This journal uses Routledge's Submission Portal to manage the submission process. The Submission Portal allows you to see your submissions across Taylor & Francis' journal portfolio in one place. To submit your manuscript please clickhere. Please note that by submitting your paper you are agreeing to originality checks during the peer-reviewand production processes.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Multiple
Editor-in-chief Tomaselli, Keyan G.Publisher website
Editorial board by country: 3 in mainland China (about 33%); most named South Africa 4, Mainland China 3, Hong Kong, China 1, United States 1 (9 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- South African History and CultureSocial Sciences15.5%
- African history and culture studiesSocial Sciences10.9%
- Media Studies and CommunicationSocial Sciences5.3%
- Anthropological Studies and InsightsSocial Sciences5.1%
- Cinema and Media StudiesEconomics, Econometrics and Finance5.1%
- African studies and sociopolitical issuesSocial Sciences5.1%
- Archaeology and Rock Art StudiesSocial Sciences4.4%
- Discourse Analysis in Language StudiesArts and Humanities3.8%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Sociology Zone 4
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Sociology | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Cultural Studies | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Sociology Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Sociology | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Cultural Studies | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Sociology Zone 4
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Sociology | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Cultural Studies | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
JCR / CiteScore quartiles on the journal's website
- CiteScore Q2 · 2025
Publisher-reported: JCR figures are Clarivate's and CiteScore figures Scopus's to confirm; both are a different system from the CAS zones.Publisher website
Database indexing
SSCIAHCIScopusLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Indexing the journal's website claims
African Studies Abstracts Online, Alternative Press Index, ARTBibliographies Modern, British Humanities Index, Film Literature Index, Humanities International Index, Index to South African Periodicals, International Bibliography of the Social Sciences, International Bibliography of Theatre & Dance, Linguistics and Language Behavior Abstracts, M L A International Bibliography, Periodicals Index Online, R I L M Abstracts of Music LiteraturePublisher website
As the journal's website lists them, not checked against each database; for Web of Science editions the records above apply.
Editions, and major and minor categories, are shown separately and never merged into one zone; check which edition your institution uses before you submit or report.
Metrics
Impact metrics and publication volume
Impact
- Impact factor
- 0.44LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 0.4Publisher website ·
- 5-year impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 0.6Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 1LetPub ·
- CiteScore (publisher) 2025
- 1Publisher website ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.2LetPub ·
- SJR (publisher) 2025
- 0.2Publisher website ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 0.55LetPub ·
- SNIP (publisher) 2025
- 0.55Publisher website ·
- h-index
- 32OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 229OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 0.67OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 0%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 5.59%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 53LetPub ·
- Downloads per year (publisher)
- 111,000Publisher website ·
- Downloads per year (publisher) 2025
- 111,000Publisher website ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 1,478 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 58 | 22 | 3 |
| 2025 | 77 | 29 | 64 |
| 2024 | 87 | 46 | 82 |
| 2023 | 81 | 25 | 181 |
| 2022 | 47 | 10 | 142 |
| 2021 | 55 | 5 | 221 |
Sources count differently and were observed at different times, so each source's own value is kept; "publisher" marks figures from the journal's website.
Review & acceptance
Review time and acceptance
Publisher-reported review time from the journal's website
89 daysfirst decision after review
The publisher's own definition applies; dates from this journal's articles in the last 24 months are not available yet, so the publisher's figure is used.
Figures by source
- Acceptance rate (publisher)
- 10%Publisher website ·
- Acceptance rate (publisher) 2025
- 10%Publisher website ·
- Submission to first decision
- 20 daysPublisher website ·
- Submission to first decision 2025
- 20 daysPublisher website ·
- First decision after review
- 89 daysPublisher website ·
- First decision after review 2025
- 89 daysPublisher website ·
- Acceptance to publication
- 36 daysPublisher website ·
- Acceptance to publication 2025
- 36 daysPublisher website ·
Community reports come from authors' own submissions (confidence 0.5) and are not a promise from the journal; for publisher figures, the journal's own definitions apply.
Fees & open access
APC and open-access policy
Hybrid open accessLetPub
A subscription journal in which authors can pay to publish their article open access.
| Source | APC | Fee waiver | License | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Publisher website | Yes, amount not published | — | — |
A hybrid journal charges the APC only when the author chooses open access; publishing under the subscription model is usually free.
The journal's website is authoritative for fees; sources were observed at different times and each keeps its own value, without averaging.
Submission
Article types and submission policies (journal website)
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteOpen access, Peer review, Plagiarism
- Open access Open access
Critical Arts is a hybrid open access journal that is part of the Taylor & Francis Open Select publishing program, giving you the option to publish open access. Publishing open access means that your article will be free to access online immediately on publication, increasing the visibility, readership, and impact of your research. Why choose open access? Increase the discoverability and readershi…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review
Originality checks during peer-review and production processes Model summary
Please note that by submitting your paper you are agreeing to originality checks during the peer-reviewand production processes.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Plagiarism
Originality checks during peer-review and production processes Model summary
Please note that by submitting your paper you are agreeing to originality checks during the peer-reviewand production processes.
Source ↗Publisher website ·
Excerpts are quoted from the journal's website; "model summary" lines are written by Workers AI and checked against the text. The journal's website is authoritative.
Profile
Publication details and official links
- Publisher
- Taylor & Francis
- ISSN
- 0256-0046
- Electronic ISSN
- 1992-6049
- Latest issue on the website
- Volume 39, Issue 6 (2025)
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗OpenAlex
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Critical Arts-South-North Cultural and Media Studies
What CAS zone is Critical Arts-South-North Cultural and Media Studies in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Critical Arts-South-North Cultural and Media Studies is in Zone 4 of Sociology, and in Zone 4 of the minor category Cultural Studies. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 3 of Sociology. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of Critical Arts-South-North Cultural and Media Studies?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 0.44; CiteScore 1, h-index 32.
How long does peer review take at Critical Arts-South-North Cultural and Media Studies?
The publisher reports about 89 days (first decision after review); the journal's website gives an acceptance rate of 10% (2025). Article statistics cover accepted papers only, publisher figures follow the journal's own definitions, and community reports come from authors' own submissions; none is a promise from the journal.
Where are the editorial board members of Critical Arts-South-North Cultural and Media Studies based?
Of the 9 board members whose country the journal's board page names, 3 (about 33%) are in mainland China; the countries named most often are South Africa (4), Mainland China (3) and Hong Kong, China (1). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Critical Arts-South-North Cultural and Media Studies?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Critical Arts-South-North Cultural and Media Studies is indexed in SSCI, AHCI and Scopus.
Is Critical Arts-South-North Cultural and Media Studies open access, and what is the APC?
Critical Arts-South-North Cultural and Media Studies is a hybrid journal. For open-access publication: APC charged, amount not published.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, Publisher website, OpenAlex; every figure is tagged with its source and the date it was observed, and conflicting values are kept per source. LetPub source page: view ↗ (archived 2026-08-26). Last updated: .