CALL FOR ORIGINAL ARTICLES, PERSPECTIVE PIECES, BOOK/MEDIA REVIEWS, AND SPECIAL ISSUE PROPOSALS (Issue 2, Volume 11)
CALL FOR ORIGINAL ARTICLES, PERSPECTIVE PIECES, BOOK/MEDIA REVIEWS, AND SPECIAL ISSUE PROPOSALS (Issue 2, Volume 11)
Critical Disability Discourses/Discours critiques dans le champ du handicap (CDD-DCCH) publishes a broad range of peer-reviewed disability studies articles, editor-reviewed perspective pieces, and book/media reviews.
We are currently seeking submissions for our Fall 2026 second issue (Issue 2, Volume 11), continuing with our new format of publishing two issues per volume year. Please submit your drafts or completed pieces to us by February 25, 2026. Manuscripts should be submitted directly to the Managing Editor at gregproc@yorku.ca. We cannot guarantee that submissions made after that date will be included in Issue Two but will be made available online first on a rolling basis and likely assigned to a third issue (December 2026).
CDD solicits manuscripts from graduate students, postgraduates, or recent PhDs with disability studies specializations entrenched in disability matters. CDD is the publishing home for up-and-coming disability studies scholars. The journal has a history of publishing works by junior scholars (and School of Critical Disability Studies alums at York University) who, at the time, were starting their careers in disability studies, such as Drs. Gillian Parekh, Madeline Burghardt, Jen Rinaldi, Eliza Chandler, Natalie Spagnuolo, and many others.
CDD mentors junior disability studies scholars, graduate students, postgraduates, and early-career academics as they make their first forays into peer-reviewed publishing with CDD. This approach will be implemented early in the managerial review process, during the vetting of submissions' suitability before assigning them to peer reviewers. This mentoring arrangement has enabled us to expand the journal’s output successfully in 2025.
About the Journal
Critical Disability Discourses (CDD) is a bilingual, interdisciplinary journal that publishes articles that focus on experiences of disability from a critical perspective. The Journal appeals to junior scholars in the social sciences and humanities, as well as all disciplines interested in disability rights, advocacy, community organizing, and policy-making affecting people with disabilities. We acknowledge that some collegiate disability studies programs and courses emphasize the applied side of disability research, while several others privilege humanistic, theoretical, and arts-based approaches. CDD celebrates this spectrum. However, CDD’s scope does not involve endorsing solely medicalized perspectives or tragedy models of disability or positivist and pathologizing discourses of debility and disablement. We publish articles on disability themes across education, ethics, sociology, politics, health, human rights, social work, history, culture, film and media studies, business, war, conflict, and human displacement studies. This list is not intended to be exhaustive. If you are unsure if your paper subject fits the mandate of CDD, please email abstracts to the managing editor at gregproc@yorku.ca.
CDD, managed by graduate students, is published under the auspices and with the support of the Critical Disability Studies program faculty in the Faculty of Health at York University. Our objective is to create an academic space where emerging researchers might make valuable contributions to the expanding field of critical disability studies. We welcome submissions derived from graduate coursework, theses, or dissertations. Journal topics share in common a dedication to anti-oppression and social justice. The journal intends to bring disability-related issues to mainstream scholastic conversations by promoting and publishing arguments critically assessing disabling social conditions. Discourse about disability is arguably not taken seriously enough in mainstream academic circles; without theoretical backing, it is difficult to effect social change. For CDD’s team, the journal is part of a greater effort to bring disability to the table and to redress discrimination. You can find the journal’s full Focus and Scope here.
Submission Guidelines
Each edited volume will consist of 5-7 high-quality original articles, two disability perspective pieces, and two book/media reviews using critical theory to broaden disability discourses.
Original articles (i.e., empirical, theoretical, conceptual)
Authors have a wide latitude in word count (4000-8000 words inclusive of references or 15-25 double-spaced pages). Articles will critically address a question about an aspect of disability and offer a new angle of thought and insight. They will involve a critical argument rather than being merely descriptive. We will encourage authors to address their topics' ethical and social justice implications where applicable.
Disability perspectives
Editor-reviewed perspectives pieces (2000-3000 words or 7-10 double-spaced pages inclusive of references) can, but are not limited to, address current issues in disability studies research, policy, advocacy, politics, or troubling problematic disability discourses. Perspective pieces can allow junior scholars to stimulate respectful debate and discussion.
Book/Media reviews
Book or media reviews should be limited to 2 to 3 double-spaced pages (1000 words). Reviews will critique disability-themed books, visual or listening media, computer software, or other discursive media through a critical disability studies lens.
To promote inclusion and accessibility, audio or digital submissions are welcome if they are accompanied by closed captioning completed by the author or a third party. Artistic submissions with descriptive text are also welcome.
Articles are peer-reviewed. Directly email manuscript submissions to the Managing Editor at gregproc@yorku.ca. Authors are encouraged to communicate directly with the Editor, as this ensures we can make the submission and review process more accessible. The managerial editor will reply to authors to confirm receipt or inform them that essential criteria have not been met. The Managing Editor will determine if the submission requires single—or double-anonymized peer review.
Our promise of rapid publication: All submitted manuscripts are initially appraised by the managing editor to meet our editorial standards. If deemed suitable for further consideration, the manuscript will be sent to expert referees specializing in the topic. Amid secondary review, peer reviewers will have one week to consent to or reject the review of an article. Reviews will be submitted to the managing editor within four weeks. Accepted authors are informed that they have one month to incorporate changes and send the final draft. Articles accepted and ready for publication will be available online in 7 days or less.
There is no fee for publishing with CDD.
