Man (journal)

Man (journal)
Title	Man
Discipline	Anthropology
Former names	Man, Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute
Abbreviation	Man
Publisher	Royal Anthropological Institute
Country	United Kingdom
Frequency	Quarterly
History	1901–present
Issn	0025-1496

Man (journal) is a longstanding peer-reviewed periodical published by the Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland that presents ethnographic reports, theoretical essays, review articles, and debates in cultural and social anthropology. Founded in the early twentieth century, the journal has chronicled fieldwork from regions including Africa, Asia, the Americas, and Oceania, and has engaged with intellectual currents associated with figures and institutions such as Bronisław Malinowski, Alfred Radcliffe-Brown, Claude Lévi-Strauss, E. E. Evans-Pritchard, and Franz Boas. Its pages have hosted discussions intersecting with work by scholars connected to Cambridge School, Manchester School, Yale University, University of Chicago, and the London School of Economics.

History and publication

The journal began as an organ of the Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland in 1901 and has published continuously through major historical moments including the First World War, the Second World War, the Cold War, decolonization across Africa and Asia, and the rise of postcolonial studies spearheaded by scholars at institutions such as SOAS University of London and University of Oxford. Early contributors included members of the British Museum and fieldworkers from expeditions to regions like Papua New Guinea, East Africa, and Amazon Basin. Across the twentieth century the journal shifted from museum-centered reports to theoretical and methodological debates influenced by schools associated with Functionalism, Structuralism, and later Symbolic anthropology. Publication frequency evolved under editors affiliated with the Royal Anthropological Institute and partner presses in London and the journal adopted double-blind peer review procedures in the late twentieth century as practices associated with University of Cambridge and Harvard University editorial standards matured.

Scope and editorial policy

Man publishes empirical monographs, theoretical interventions, and critical reviews focused on cultural, social, and applied strands of Anthropology as practiced in university departments such as University College London, University of Manchester, University of Edinburgh, and Columbia University. The editorial policy emphasizes rigorous fieldwork, archival research, and comparative analysis drawing upon archives like the India Office Records, collections at the British Library, and ethnographic holdings of the Pitt Rivers Museum. Submissions are evaluated under peer review with criteria comparable to those used by journals linked to American Anthropological Association, Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland, and major academic presses. Special issues have foregrounded themes connected to events and debates involving entities such as United Nations policy discussions, European Union migration frameworks, and postcolonial transitions in states like India, Nigeria, and Indonesia.

Notable articles and contributions

The journal has published influential pieces that engaged with concepts elaborated by theorists connected to Durkheim, Mauss, and Weber traditions, and field reports from regions including Samoa and the Congo. Seminal articles appeared by scholars affiliated with Sydney, Harvard, and Princeton traditions and have addressed kinship debates involving work comparable to that of David Schneider, critiques of colonial ethnography in line with interventions by Edward Said and Homi K. Bhabha, and methodological reflections resonant with the comparative approaches adopted at Yale University and University of California, Berkeley. Special issues have featured thematic clusters on urban transformations in Mumbai, ritual economies in Mexico, and indigenous rights movements in Canada and Australia, bringing contributions that cite legal frameworks like the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and case studies involving courts in South Africa and New Zealand.

Editorial board and editors-in-chief

Over the decades the journal’s masthead has included editors and board members affiliated with leading departments and institutes such as University of Cambridge, London School of Economics, University of Oxford, University of Manchester, University of California, Los Angeles, and Australian National University. Editors-in-chief have been scholars who maintained links with fieldwork sites across Melanesia, the Caribbean, West Africa, and Southeast Asia, and institutions including the British Museum, School of Oriental and African Studies, and the Smithsonian Institution. The editorial board regularly comprises academics holding posts at universities such as Princeton University, Yale University, University of Chicago, McGill University, and University of Tokyo, reflecting the journal’s international remit.

Reception and impact

Man has been cited in scholarly debates alongside journals published by associations such as the American Anthropological Association, Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland, and presses connected to Cambridge University Press and Oxford University Press. Reviews and retrospectives in outlets associated with Times Literary Supplement, New Statesman, and leading university departments have noted the journal’s role in shaping conversations about fieldwork ethics, reflexivity, and postcolonial critique influenced by thinkers at Columbia University and University of California, Berkeley. The journal’s articles have informed policy analyses by bodies like UNESCO and advocacy work by non-governmental organizations operating in regions such as Sahel and Borneo.

Indexing and availability

Man is indexed in major bibliographic databases maintained by organizations such as ProQuest, EBSCO, and aggregators used by libraries at University of Cambridge, Harvard University, and University of Oxford. Back issues are available through library collections including the British Library, the Bodleian Libraries, and institutional subscriptions at research libraries across Europe, North America, and Asia. The Royal Anthropological Institute provides subscription information and access through its liaison with academic publishers and consortia including those at JISC and other university-level licensing frameworks.

Category:Anthropology journals