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Journal of Sociology

Aims and Scope

Journal of Sociology publishes world leading research across all fields of sociology. As the official journal of The Australian Sociological Association, it showcases vibrant research from the Asia Pacific region and the wider world. Tackling complex social problems and addressing the most current social issues and inequalities, Journal of Sociology is a leading source of cutting-edge sociological ideas and inquiry drawing on both qualitative and quantitative methods. The journal also features interdisciplinary and applied research that is firmly anchored in the sociological imagination. The journal is relevant and accessible for both scholars and practitioners engaged in sociology.

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The Journal of Sociology was founded in 1965, turning 60 in 2025. Come celebrate with us at the TASA conference at The University of Melbourne!

For further information on this journal, including submitting a manuscript, please go to the Sage website.

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Special issue: Future/Tense: A Sociology of Temporal Dis/Order
Guest edited by Katherine Kenny, Leah Williams Veazey, Michelle Peterie, Alex Broom, and Barbara Prainsack

The last few years of pandemic living have highlighted various temporal tensions that characterise our individual and collective futures. In some ways, the scale of temporal disruption caused by the pandemic could be considered unprecedented. But in other ways, the temporal tensions that underpin social life are long-standing, even routine. In this special issue, ‘Future/Tense: A Sociology of Temporal Dis/Order’, we take the intensification of temporal tensions in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic, and well beyond it, as impetus to interrogate how the future is variously known, felt and valued by individuals, institutions and societies. The assembled articles cover a wide range of empirical foci – from life-limiting diagnoses and housing instability to climate anxiety and space colonisation. They are united, however, by their critical attention to the (frequently overlooked) temporal tensions that lie at the heart of many of the key social challenges we confront in the contemporary historical moment.

Read more here

Check out the video abstract below:

Introducing Teaching Notes

Nick Pendergrast and Garrity Hill, Teaching Notes Editors

Teaching Notes is a new special section of The Journal of Sociology for teachers and teaching focused sociology staff. While some sociologists are in research-only positions, the vast majority of us do at least some teaching as part of our job. Conversations reflecting on teaching practice are important but also relevant to nearly all sociologists. In Teaching Notes, we aim to create a dialogue among teachers to share ideas about teaching sociology, and insights and reflections that have come out of classroom experiences and practice.

In Teaching Notes, we invite you to consider the issues that are most pressing in our classrooms now.

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For example, such discussions are important in light of the decline of the lecture across many universities, with low attendance being common and some universities even removing in-person lectures altogether. We welcome any contributions from sociology teachers on their efforts to “do lectures differently” and the methods they employ to attempt to reverse the trend of declining lecture attendance. Conversations about the future of the lecture also point to the importance of other forms of teaching, and we strongly encourage contributions on how other formats can engage students in their learning.

In Teaching Notes, we also aim to challenge the dichotomy of teaching and research, showcasing examples of teaching as research. One example of this is curriculum design, where teaching staff carry out extensive desk-based research to update their subject materials to reflect current issues and developments in the field.

Lastly, we welcome contributions to the Teaching Notes section that speak to the idea of teaching as sociology in action. For example, what teaching practices and strategies are most effective for teaching the sociological imagination as a way of knowing and a distinctive disciplinary lens? How do we prepare students for applying their sociological imagination to wider public discourse and civic life outside of the classroom? What can sociology contribute to an understanding of teaching pedagogy in higher education more broadly?

Teaching notes have been set up as a space that aims to be more accessible to teaching-focused staff who often have limited time for research. The shorter, 4,000-word length for articles in this section should assist with this. We welcome empirical research, but we also encourage sociologists to share their first-hand teaching insights and reflections, grounded in the relevant teaching and sociology (and teaching sociology) literature. This is a space to inspire others with your ideas, as we all work towards best practice teaching and the best possible education for students. Even though the articles are shorter and do not have to include empirical research, they are still peer-reviewed publications.

We hope that Teaching Notes will be a space for sociology teachers to reflect on what it means to teach sociology, and also what it means to teach sociologically.

Call for Special Issue Proposals

The Journal of Sociology is an international journal published four times a year by Sage. Each year the editors invite expressions of interest from the international community of sociological scholars to guest edit a Special Issue of the journal. Special issues may address any sociological theme that is likely to be of interest to the journal’s international readership. We particularly welcome themes that are international in scope, but also showcase the vibrancy of contemporary sociological research in Australia and the wider Asia-Pacific region.

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Papers featured in Special Issues are subject to the normal process of peer review. A potential call for abstracts, selection of papers and coordination of the peer review process will be the responsibility of the guest editors.

Please note, to allow ample time for peer reviews to be received and revisions to be completed, submitting authors would need to work to a deadline for manuscript submission in March 2026, with final copy by late 2026.

Expressions of interest should include the following information:

a) A 500 word summary of the special issue theme, including rationale and aims; how the SI will contribute to contemporary sociological thinking and research, and its relevance to the Asia-Pacific region.

b) Division of labour within the guest editorial team, including selection and handling of papers, the review process, writing the editorial introduction, and meeting the specified timeline.

c) An indicative list of authors and papers to be featured in the special issue. If successful, guest editors will be asked to update this list regularly throughout the process. Please indicate if you plan to do an open call for abstracts or invite authors or a mix of both.

d) Contact details and 1-page CV for each guest editor. Please highlight any previous editorial experience.

Please note, if guest editors would like to submit a refereed paper for publication in the issue themselves, they must follow the process set out in the guest editor guidelines that successful SI teams will receive.The peer review processes for such papers will be overseen by the EiCs to ensure ethical practices.

Submission:

Please submit proposals to the Managing Editor amy.vanderharst@unimelb.edu.au by September 15th, 2025.

The Special Issue will be selected and handled by the Editors-in-Chief, A/Prof Ashley Barnwell and A/Prof Signe Ravn and outcomes communicated directly to the submitting teams in November, after ratification by the TASA Executive.

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Current Editorial Team

Editor in Chief:
Ashley Barnwell and Signe Ravn, The University of Melbourne

Managing Editor:

Amy Vanderharst, The University of Melbourne

Editors:

Lutfun Nahar Lata (Book Review Editor), The University of Melbourne
Nicholas Hill, The University of Melbourne
Megan Sharp, The University of Melbourne
Max Holleran, The University of Melbourne
Jens Zinn, The University of Melbourne
Nikki Moodie, The University of Melbourne
Belinda Hewitt, The University of Melbourne
Lyn Craig, The University of Melbourne
Karen Farquharson, The University of Melbourne
Dan Woodman, The University of Melbourne
Garrity Hill, The University of Melbourne
Nick Pendergrast, The University of Melbourne
Jack Lam, The University of Melbourne
Sophie Rudolph, The University of Melbourne

The National Expert Advisory Board can be viewed on the Sage website here.

Introducing the New Editorial Team

Welcome to the second issue of the Journal of Sociology for 2025! Because the first issue of the year was a Special Issue curated by a team of guest editors, the current issue is the first standard issue published under our editorship and we wanted to take the opportunity to introduce our team and our ambitions for the next four years in a bit more detail. A list of the Editorial team is available here. The team is based at the University of Melbourne, where we will work closely together to edit JoS from 2025-2028.

Taking on the editorship of JoS, we hope to continue the great work of previous teams and further develop the journal. One of our key aims is to embrace our position in the Asia-Pacific and connect with sociological communities and encourage more contributions from scholars in our region. To support this aim we are in the process of renewing the wider Editorial Board to ensure better representation of Asia-Pacific sociologists. Another central aim is to diversify the publication formats offered by JoS to allow for a broader range of academic contributions, such as photo essays, roundtables, and interviews, in addition to the conventional research article. We hope this will stimulate the sociological imagination of readers and help make the journal a vibrant and lively outlet for high-quality sociological work, conversations and debate.

One such new format is Teaching Notes, a section of the journal specifically dedicated to short, peer-reviewed articles on teaching sociology - and teaching sociologically - and our section editors, Garrity Hill and Nick Pendergrast, have written a short Call for Contributions which you will find below this editorial. Finally, this editorial and newsletter are also examples of new initiatives that we hope can contribute to creating a renewed sense of community. While the days of everyone gathering in the staff kitchen on publication day to unwrap the latest issue may be past, the newsletter and editorial, landing in your inbox quarterly, provide a thematic overview of each new issue and help to create the feeling of a reading community.

Soon we will circulate the Call for Proposals for the 2027 Special Issue of the journal, so keep an eye out for that if you have a topic in mind. However, please also note that beyond entire Special Issues we also publish Special Sections as part of standard journal issues, as a ‘mini’ Special Issue. For these we have no set deadlines, but encourage authors to get in touch with proposals as ideas develop. In short, a Special Section consists of 3-5 articles focused around a particular topic as well as a short section introduction.

Our first year as new EiCs and editorial team coincides with a special anniversary for the journal – this year JoS celebrates its 60th birthday. To mark this event, we are planning a birthday section for the last issue of 2025 with a few special pieces lined up. If you have something you wish to contribute, please get in touch with us asap.

As we are working to achieve quicker paper processing times and solicit quality and rigorous peer reviews, you might notice some changes in the day-to-day running of the journal. We have also created new submission guidelines which we hope you will consult. JoS already boasts numerous high-quality articles but of course also competes with highly ranked Sociology journals based outside of Australia. It is our hope that new and dynamic formats, increased visibility and a clear sense of sociological community will help make JoS the number one choice for more and more sociologists. We are excited about taking on this role and look forward to receiving your next paper :)

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Previous Editorial Teams

2021 - 2024:

Editor in Chief:
Helen Forbes-Mewett, Monash University

Managing Editor:
Faiza Yasmeen, Monash University (Allegra Schermuly was at the start of the editorial term)

Editors:
JaneMaree Maher, Monash University
Neil Selwyn, Monash University
Bronwyn Carlson, Macquarie University
Yolande Strengers, Monash University
Brady Robards, Monash University
Nicholas Hookway, University of Tasmania
Naomi Pfitzner, Monash University
Charishma Ratnam, Monash University (Book Review Editor)
Claire Tanner, Monash University

2017 - 2020
Editors-in-Chief:
Kate Huppatz, Western Sydney University, Australia and Steve Matthewman, University of Auckland, New Zealand

Editorial Board Members:
Sara Amin, The University of the South Pacific, Fiji
Marcelle Dawson, University of Otago, New Zealand
Catriona Elder, University of Sydney, Australia
Joshua Roose, Australian Catholic University, Australia
Shawna Tang, University of Sydney, Australia
Holly Thorpe, University of Waikato, New Zealand
Robert van Krieken, University of Sydney, Australia
Maggie Walter, University of Tasmania, Australia
Robert Webb, University of Auckland, New Zealand

2013 - 2016
Editor-in-Chief: Alphia Possamai-Inesedy

Managing Editor: Dr Alex Norman

Editors:
Dr Rebecca Olson, Professor Adam Possamai, Professor Kerry Robinson, Professor David Rowe, Professor Deborah Stevenson, Professor Rob Stones, Professor Bryan Turner

Book Review Editor: Dr Kate Huppatz

2009 - 2012
Editor-in-Chief:
Andy Bennett, Griffith University

Managing Editor: Russell Brennan

Editorial Board Members:
Sarah Baker, Griffith University
Margaret Gibson, Griffith University
Ian Woodward, Griffith University
Malcolm Alexander, Griffith University
Simone Fullagar, Griffith University
Suzanne Goopy, Griffith University
Georgina Murray, Griffith University
Russell Brennan, Griffith University

Book Reviewer: Young-Sook Lee, Griffith University

2006 - 2009
John Scott, University of New England

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Best Paper Award

The Sage/TASA Best Paper Award for the Journal of Sociology (JoS) is an annual process that uses academic peer review to select papers of outstanding quality published in JoS.

The prize is awarded to the paper judged by the panel to be the best published in the previous year of the Journal of Sociology. Symposia or parts of symposia, replies or rejoinders, notes and book reviews (but not review essays) are excluded from consideration.

The JoS BP Award is presented every year at the TASA annual conference. The Award is sponsored by Sage. The full details are available here. .

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Special Issues

2000: Special Issue: Neoliberalism, New Public Management and the human service professions (possibly the first special issue)
2001:none
2002: none
2003: Commercializing Emotions
2004: Fear and Loathing in the New Century
2005: Special Issue: 'Life pathways: insights from longitudinal research' ; Guest edited by: Janeen Baxter and David de Vaus
2006: none
2007: none
2008: Special Issue: Cultural Sociology: Australian Perspectives and Themes
2009: Special Issue: Neoliberalism, New Public Management and the human service professions
2010: Special Issue: Sociology of food and eating
2011: Special Issue: Youth: Identities, Transitions, Cultures
2012: Special Issue: Sociology’s object(s) and the discipline’s relevance
2013: Special issue: Teaching Sociology: Reflections on the Discipline & Special issue: Antipodean Fields: Working with Bourdieu
2014: Special issue: Migration and Multiculturalism: Australia and Europe
2015: Special issue: Sociology of bio-knowledge at the limits of life
2016: Special issue: Sociology of the military & Special issue: Chinese sociology
2017: none
2018: none
2019: Special issue – Gendered and Generational Inequalities in the Gig Economy Era
2020: Special Issue - Indigenous Sociology & Special issue – Asylum Seekers in the Global Context of Xenophobia
JOS_57_1 March 2021
Special Issue: Post-national formations and cosmopolitanism
Guest editors: Associate Professor Farida Fozdar and Professor Ian Woodward.
JOS_57_3 September 2021
Special Section: Hospitality and Hostility: The intimate life of borders and migration
Guest editors: Associate Professor Fataneh Farahani, Dr Yasmin Gunaratnam and Associate Professor Suruchi Thapar-Björkert
JOS_58_2 June 2022
Special Issue: Imagining Rural and Rural Sociology Futures in Times of Uncertainty and Possibility
Guest editors: Dr Christina Malatzky and Dr Kiah Smith.
JOS_58_3 September 2022
Special Issue: Education and the Production of Inequalities: Dialogues from the Global South and North’
Guest editors: Dr Denisse Sepúlveda Sánchez, Dr Manuela Mendoza Horvitz, Dr Sara Joiko and Francisca Ortiz Ruiz
JOS_59_2 June 2023
Special Section: Fields, Capitals, Habitus: What Next? A Review Symposium
Guest editors: Emeritus Professors Tony Bennett and David Rowe
JOS_59_3 September 2023
Special Issue: What do misinformation practices feel like? Wellness culture and digital health in a post-COVID world.
Guest editors: Dr Naomi Smith and Dr Clare Southerton
JOS_59_4 December 2023
Special Issue: A Basic Income for a Complex Society
Guest editors: Dr Fabian Cannizzo and A/Prof. Ben Spies-Butcher
JOS_60_3 September 2024
Special Issue: The Digital Welfare State: Contestations, Considerations and Entanglements
Guest editors: Dr Georgia van Toorn, Professor Karen Soldatić and Professor Paul Henman.
JOS_60_4 December 2024
Special Issue: Decolonising Truth Globally: Challenges and Possibilities
Guest editors: Professor Yin Paradies, Dr Vanessa Barolsky and Dr Laura Rodriguez Castro

We are thrilled to celebrate Sara James and Anne-Maree Sawyer, the recipients of the prestigious Journal of Sociology Best Paper Award for 2024. Sara and Anne-Maree’s paper is titled How to navigate a pandemic: Competing discourses in The Australian Women's Weekly magazine. It is a shining example of inventive lockdown research.

Journal of Sociology features high quality sociological scholarship in all its forms. We are dedicated to showcasing theory as well as applied sociology, quantitative and qualitative research. Interdisciplinary pieces are welcome, as are submissions from outside the academy. Based in the Southern Hemisphere and committed to intellectual works from the Asia-Pacific region, including Indigenous scholarship, we also encourage submissions from across the globe.

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