American Ethnological Society Online

AES Online content is published under the umbrella of the American Ethnological Society and is in conversation with the American Ethnologist journal. Submissions are reviewed by the team of Student Editors and the Digital Content Editor; these are typically listed on a CV as “Editor reviewed publications.”

What type of pieces are published on AES Online? Our commitments are in line with those of American Ethnologist, focusing on rich, ethnographically grounded analysis as a foundation for ethnographic theory. We are interested in authors using short form publishing as an opportunity for playful and creative expression, experimental thought, and vivid evocation of lived worlds, and as a space for posing questions and provocations more than answers.

AES Online content takes the form of essays, collections, and interviews:

  • Essays are typically around 1500-2000 words, inclusive of bibliography and notes. We publish content that does at least one of the following:
    • Engages meaningfully with ethnographic content
    • Offers insight about the discipline, anthropological theory, the craft of ethnography, and/or the professional sphere
    • Initiates or stakes a claim in an academic conversation, even if provisional or in early stages of reflection
    • Serves as a dispatch from the field, pointing out important spaces for (re)theorization within social and cultural anthropology
    • Articulates key insights from the author’s previous longer publications in a fresh way for a public audience
  • Collections are typically comprised of a thematic introduction and six to ten essays; these are sometimes pitched, curated, and edited by guest editors, followed by the Digital Content Editor. Collections should bring together diverse scholars thinking generatively about a particular topic.
  • Interviews might engage anthropologists on their recently published articles, edited volumes, or monographs, or they may focus on a specific theme or trend within the discipline.

If you have a proposal for an essay, collection, or interview, please email the Digital Content Editor (kathryn.goldfarb@colorado.edu). Please see our AES Online Style Guide for further details.