Journal profile · HUMANITIES, MULTIDISCIPLINARY
JOURNAL OF AMERICAN CULTURE
ISSN 1542-7331 · eISSN 1542-734X · Wiley-Blackwell
JOURNAL OF AMERICAN CULTURE: CAS Zone 4 · Literature (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 0.1 (journal website); hybrid open access; APC about USD 2,900; median 30 days to acceptance (79 articles, last 24 months); acceptance rate 69% (journal website); 82 articles in 2025; indexed in ESCI and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
JOURNAL OF AMERICAN CULTURE is published by Wiley-Blackwell and is in Zone 4 of Literature in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Cinema and Media Studies, Latin American and Latino Studies and American History and Culture, together about 19.7% of its articles. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
The Journal of American Culture is a multidisciplinary forum for scholarship exploring the meanings, forms, and transformations of American culture. The journal publishes innovative research that examines cultural production, representation, and experience across the United States and the Americas. Bringing together scholars from fields including history, literature, media studies, cultural studies, art history, sociology, and American studies, the journal highlights the ways cultural practices illuminate broader questions of identity, power, creativity, and social change. Articles in JAC investigate both canonical cultural forms and everyday practices, from literature and visual art to film, television, digital media, music, performance, and popular culture. The journal is particularly interested in work that situates cultural texts within their historical, political, and social contexts while also engaging contemporary theoretical approaches. Recent scholarship has addressed topics such as race and representation, gender and sexuality, cultural memory, visual and material culture, media industries, and the evolving landscape of American popular culture. In keeping with its long-standing interdisciplinary tradition, The Journal of American Culture welcomes scholarship that expands the boundaries of how American culture is understood, interpreted, and debated. The journal serves as a venue for scholars whose work bridges disciplinary fields and speaks to both historical inquiry and contemporary cultural analysis. Published by Wiley in affiliation with the Popular Culture Association, the journal appears quarterly and features peer-reviewed research articles, review essays, and book and media reviews.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): HUMANITIES, MULTIDISCIPLINARY
Editor-in-chief U. Melissa AnyiwoPublisher website
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Cinema and Media StudiesEconomics, Econometrics and Finance7.1%
- Latin American and Latino StudiesSocial Sciences6.3%
- American History and CultureBusiness, Management and Accounting6.3%
- American Constitutional Law and PoliticsSocial Sciences6.3%
- Music History and CultureArts and Humanities5.4%
- Media, Gender, and AdvertisingSocial Sciences5.2%
- American Environmental and Regional HistoryEnvironmental Science5%
- Race, History, and American SocietySocial Sciences4.9%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Literature Zone 4
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Literature | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Humanities, Multidisciplinary | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Literature Zone 4
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Literature | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Humanities, Multidisciplinary | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Not covered
Not covered by this edition.
Database indexing
ESCIScopusLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Indexing the journal's website claims
Web of SciencePublisher website
Other: EBSCO, ProQuest
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 (publisher)
- 0.1Publisher website ·
- Impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 0.1Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 0.3LetPub ·
- CiteScore (publisher)
- 0.3Publisher website ·
- CiteScore (publisher) 2025
- 0.3Publisher website ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.11LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 0.31LetPub ·
- h-index
- 45OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 312OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 0.05OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 0%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 18.63%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 24LetPub ·
- Articles per year (publisher) 2025
- 74Publisher website ·
- Downloads per year (publisher) 2025
- 67,822Publisher website ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 4,471 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 29 | 5 | 0 |
| 2025 | 82 | 24 | 1 |
| 2024 | 97 | 45 | 10 |
| 2023 | 125 | 66 | 32 |
| 2022 | 117 | 21 | 12 |
| 2021 | 88 | 4 | 16 |
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
Review time from article dates manuscript dates registered with Crossref · to
30 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 16 days – 134 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 13 days (79 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 48 days
- Sample
- 79 articles with submission and acceptance dates (124 in the window); the latest was accepted on
Only articles that were accepted and published are counted, not the time spent on rejected manuscripts, so this usually runs longer than a publisher's "time to first decision".
Other sources
- Acceptance rate (publisher)
- 69%Publisher website ·
- Acceptance rate (publisher) 2025
- 69%Publisher website ·
- Submission to first decision
- 14 daysPublisher website ·
- Submission to first decision 2025
- 14 daysPublisher website ·
- Submission to acceptance 2025
- 22 daysPublisher website ·
- Acceptance to publication 2025
- 10 daysPublisher website ·
- Peer review
- Double anonymous peer reviewPublisher 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| OpenAlex | USD 2,900 / EUR 2,450 / GBP 1,930 | — | — | |
| 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)
What to prepare4 items from the author guidelines
- Abstract
- 150–200 words
- Keywords
- ≥ 5
- Manuscript length
- ≤ 8,000 words
- Reference style
- Chicago
Article types accepted4, with length limits
- research articleResearch Articles Research articles should typically be 6,000–8,000 words, including notes and references. Review Essays and Media Reviews The journal also publ…main text ≤ 8,000 words
- research articlesResearch Articles Research articles should typically be 6,000–8,000 words, including notes and references.Length not stated
- reviewResearch Articles Research articles should typically be 6,000–8,000 words, including notes and references. Review Essays and Media Reviews The journal also publ…Length not stated
- review essays and media reviewsThe journal also publishes review essays and book or media reviews.Length not stated
Policy excerpts from the journal's websitePeer review
- Peer review Peer Review Process
All submissions undergo double-blind peer review. Manuscripts are initially evaluated by the editorial team and, if appropriate, sent to expert reviewers for evaluation.
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
- Wiley-Blackwell
- ISSN
- 1542-7331
- Electronic ISSN
- 1542-734X
- Society / sponsor
- Popular Culture Association
- Latest issue on the website
- Volume 49, Issue 3 (September 2026)
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗OpenAlex
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about JOURNAL OF AMERICAN CULTURE
What CAS zone is JOURNAL OF AMERICAN CULTURE in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, JOURNAL OF AMERICAN CULTURE is in Zone 4 of Literature, and in Zone 4 of the minor category Humanities, Multidisciplinary. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 4 of Literature. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of JOURNAL OF AMERICAN CULTURE?
The journal's website gives an impact factor of 0.1 (2025); this is the journal's own figure, as LetPub lists none for it; CiteScore 0.3, h-index 45.
How long does peer review take at JOURNAL OF AMERICAN CULTURE?
Based on the dates recorded on 79 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 30 days (interquartile range 16–134 days); the journal's website gives an acceptance rate of 69% (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.
What are the manuscript requirements of JOURNAL OF AMERICAN CULTURE?
According to the journal's author guidelines: Abstract: 150–200 words; Keywords: ≥ 5; Manuscript length: ≤ 8,000 words; Reference style: Chicago. A model extracted these from the author guidelines and each was checked against the text; check the latest version on the journal's website before submitting.
Which databases index JOURNAL OF AMERICAN CULTURE?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, JOURNAL OF AMERICAN CULTURE is indexed in ESCI and Scopus. The journal's website also lists Web of Science; that list has not been checked against each database.
Is JOURNAL OF AMERICAN CULTURE open access, and what is the APC?
JOURNAL OF AMERICAN CULTURE is a hybrid journal. For open-access publication: APC about USD 2,900.
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: .