Author Guidelines

Histoire sociale / Social History 

Editorial and Style Guide

 

Editorial Policies

Mandate and History

Founded in 1968, Histoire sociale / Social History has become a leading publication of socio-historical research. The journal includes articles, research notes, book reviews, and other submissions that contribute to social history in Canada and abroad. The journal is interested in all types of social phenomena, whether cultural, political, economic, or demographic, without methodological, temporal, or geographic restrictions. The journal gives priority to studies that explicitly integrate different sub-fields of social history and are innovative in sources, method, or interpretation.

 

In past years, Histoire sociale / Social History has also published special issues focused on specific topics. These special issues are designed to complement our regular publication of submissions by Canadian and foreign scholars. The journal also contains a lengthy section of book reviews that provides a critical look at the most recent socio-historical productions.

 

Founded by historians from the University of Ottawa and Carleton University, Histoire sociale / Social History benefits today from the collaboration of colleagues from the University of Ottawa and York University. The journal is published twice yearly, in May and November, with the financial assistance of the University of Ottawa, York University, and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.

 

General Editorial Policy

Histoire sociale / Social History is published twice per year. Texts submitted for editorial and external reviewer approval must fall within the journal's mandate and meet the requirements of an academic research journal of national and international scope. Before submitting a manuscript, please ensure it meets the journal’s publishing standards as set out in the “Manuscript Presentation” and “Style Guide” sections below. 

 

The journal accepts only exclusive and unpublished material. This means... 

 

• that it is an unpublished work that is not being evaluated by another journal; 

• that one waits to receive a response from the journal’s editorial committee before submitting a text currently submitted for consideration by Histoire sociale / Social History to another journal or publisher; 

• That, if and once accepted for publication, the copyright belongs exclusively to Histoire sociale / Social History, unless otherwise agreed and noted.

 

Authors are asked not to deposit any content published by Histoire sociale / Social History in institutional repositories or to share PDFs of their published work over the web. Rather, authors are asked to provide a link to the journal’s content either on the Histoire sociale / Social History’s Project MUSE webpage or OJS website. 

Open Access (OA) Policy

Authors who wish to make their published manuscript freely available (Open Access) are asked to communicate with the journal upon submission to discuss options.

Author Self-Archiving

Authors are permitted to deposit published manuscripts in an institutional repository to fulfil any Open Access requirements demanded by funding agencies. 

Definitions of Content

Articles 

Texts that are 11,000 words in English and 12,000 words in French (inclusive of footnotes and Figures, Tables, and Graphs) and make an original contribution to knowledge. The journal gives priority to studies that explicitly integrate different subfields of social history and are innovative in source, method and interpretation.

Research Notes 

A research paper that seeks to advance a theoretical perspective, present preliminary results of ongoing research, or offer a rigorous examination of a primary question or source. Maximum length: 5,000 words.

Round-tables 

Round-tables are peer-reviewed collections of reviews by multiple authors on a single scholarly book, and are published together so as to prompt discussions on topics of historical significance. In publishing round-tables, Histoire sociale / Social History wishes to offer a platform to open a dialogue among historians on issues of historical significance. Collections may be anywhere between 2 and 5 reviews, each at a length of 1000–1200 words. 

Forums

Similar to round-tables, forums are peer-reviewed panels of experts exchanging comments on particular themes, rather than particular books, and are moderated by a specialist in the matter. Themes are chosen by the Board or can be suggested to the journal. Collections may be anywhere between 2 and 5 reviews, each at a length of 1000–1200 words. 

Thematic Sections 

In order to further research on particular topics which merit research, Histoire sociale / Social History publishes Thematic Sections. Thematic Sections are collections of articles and may also include research notes and book reviews grouped under a particular theme. Thematic Sections include a minimum of three peer reviewed manuscripts, such as articles and research notes. In addition to these special thematic sections, the journal may propose and is receptive to proposals for full special thematic issues.

Colloquia

In order to facilitate scholarly discussion around important topics, Histoire sociale / Social History occasionally publishes groups of articles known as Colloquia. Colloquia are collections of non-conventional works, such as methodological surveys, blog posts, and scholarly podcasts (accompanied by a transcript or text of 1000-2000 words), either commissioned by Histoire sociale / Social History or independently submitted which touch upon a particular topic or theme. While the creation of a colloquium may come as a result of one or several works submitted to Histoire sociale / Social History, sometimes, the journal will create the colloquium call for works. Taken together, submissions should not surpass a length of 11,000–12,000 words. 

Creative Scholarship and Multimedia

Creative Scholarship and Multi-Media offers a space to publish peer-reviewed material that falls out of the traditional scope of research articles found in the printed pages of Histoire sociale / Social History but would otherwise be of interest to scholars. Work published as Creative Scholarship and Multimedia may range from critical discussions of new methodological approaches to analytical interventions into matters of social-historical theory and practice. The journal encourages submissions of creative scholarship in the form of multimedia and alternative media—comics, soundworks, podcasts, picture or image essays, and videos—accompanied, when necessary, by an adequate text description. It may also include critical interviews or group projects that aim specifically at going beyond the standard research article to present scholarly research and innovative socio-historical interpretation. Peer-reviewed material published as Creative Scholarship and Multimedia will vary, but will be grounded in the relevant scholarly literature and be pertinent to the overall theme of social history.  

Podcasts

Podcasts are brief, recorded interviews with authors whose peer-reviewed work has appeared in Histoire / Social History. At times, the interview will accompany an article that has appeared in Social History in a recent or current issue. At other times, the interview will be with authors who have recently appeared in the news and whose work has been featured in Histoire sociale / Social History in the past. Designed to be “bite-sized,” ranging from a couple to ten minutes, these podcasts highlight the noteworthy scholarly work going on in the pages of Social History.

 

Bilingualism at Histoire sociale / Social History

Histoire sociale / Social History is a bilingual journal that publishes in English and French and caters to a largely bilingual audience. Both languages may be used. Quotations or citations from either language need not be translated unless a specific argument regarding the language or translation is being made. 

 

Quotations in English or French must be retained in their original language in the text. If the author wishes to provide a translation for convenience, it should appear as a footnote.

 

Quotations should not be italicized, but placed within quotation marks. 

 

On the recommendation of the Translation Bureau, translate the names of universities according to the rules found here. 

 

Example:

 

The Submission Process

Authors are requested to submit their papers in Word as an attachment to an email sent to the journal's email address, hssh@uottawa.ca. 

 

Please save the file with the following nomenclature: short title, submission date (year, month, day). For example: Hogs, Cows, and Residents 1984.07.31.

 

Your email should include your name, article title, a 100 to 150-word abstract, institutional affiliation, and full contact information.

 

Submitted documents should contain :

• An abstract of the article with keywords;

• The article written in accordance with the publishing standards;

• Any images or illustrations as separate documents in original format, preferably minimum 300dpi. Do not integrate the images into the document unless necessary for the peer review. 

• No references that may reveal the author’s identity. 

Submission Guidelines

Writing Abstracts

Submissions of research articles and research notes should include an abstract of 100–150 words. Please include the abstract on the first page following the title, and in italics. Please also include your abstract in the body of your submission email. 

 

Abstracts should add substance to the title and clearly define the topic, demonstrate the research that has been conducted, and briefly describe some of the key findings and conclusions.

 

Abstracts need to maximize discoverability: the keywords it contains will be indexed, and the information included in abstracts will contribute to the ranking of your article by search engines. If you write a detailed and descriptive abstract, your article will have a higher chance of being discovered in search engines than an identical article without an abstract. 

 

Getting people to find your article is just the first step. You also want your article to be read and cited. A well-written abstract is the best tool to achieve this. By telling readers exactly what your article contains, they can quickly and easily determine if its content is relevant to their research.

 

An effective abstract should do the following:

• It should lay bare why it is of interest to the reader.

• It should provide a statement of the topic or questions under consideration. 

• It should describe an approach or methodology. 

• Summarize the findings, the most important elements the article will communicate. 

 

A few additional points to consider:

• Include the specific geographic location or region explored.

• include the time period examined.

• What makes this research new / interesting / important.

Do's and don'ts of writing an abstract

To do: 

• Use keywords, terms, and phrases;

• Define all acronyms, even the most common ones;

• Work within the defined word limits, 100–150 words;

• Get feedback from other experts in the field and editors;

• Write for the right audience.

 

Don’t do:

• Don't use only the first paragraph or a set of sentences copy and pasted from the text;

• Don't use technical or specialized jargon without defining it;

• Do not include any supplemental information that is not also included in the full text.

• Do not include references.

 

Choosing Keywords

Keywords are important because they are used to index your text in search engines. Articles and research notes must therefore be accompanied by 7–8 keywords. Keywords are intended to complement both the title and abstract and are effective tools to make the article “findable” online.

 

It is important that the keywords are not vague. Instead, use direct and descriptive terms that accurately reflect the contents of your work.

 

Keywords do not necessarily have to be the terms that appear most often in your text, but they should give the reader an idea of the field and area of study. Keywords do not need to be a single word; they can be short phrases.

 

Writing a Biographical Note

The biographical note is summarized in a short text that provides the current institutional affiliation of the author. 

Before submitting your manuscript

• Ensure the manuscript does not exceed the permitted word count, 11,000 words (inclusive of footnotes, Figures, Tables, and Graphs); 

• Ensure that the text meets the stylistic requirements outlined in this document. 

• Histoire sociale / Social History publishes original content. Please confirm that you have not submitted or published this article, a very similar article elsewhere or in a published monograph or edited collection in English, French or any other language. 

• Make sure the text has been rendered anonymous, that the author names have been carefully removed. Remove the author names from the document’s properties. In particular, watch for entries such as "from my thesis", "my previous work on", etc.

• When writing or editing your text, consider your target audience, generally professional academics or graduate students interested in the topic under investigation but also with a broader interest in social history worldwide. Some will have a specialized understanding of the themes under consideration while others may be more interested in how your research contributes more broadly to social history writ large. 

• Avoid using unnecessary jargon;

• Explain concepts clearly upon their first use, even if they should be well understood within the discipline;

• Avoid wordy and awkward sentences; as a general rule, use Plain Language whenever possible. 

• Avoid clichés and colloquial phrases, such as “nowadays”

• Text language in Word set to English (Canada)

• Straight apostrophes (‘) are systematically replaced with typographic or “curved” apostrophes (“). 

• Please review each paragraph and the whole text for repetitive use of keywords. Repetitive use of words and phrases can take away from the flow of an article. 

The Peer Review Process

Upon receipt, each submission is read carefully by the editorial committee to determine whether it meets Histoire sociale / Social History’s mandate and merits being sent for peer review. The peer review evaluation process is conducted entirely anonymously, unless otherwise negotiated and agreed: The evaluators do not know the name of the author of the text they are evaluating and the author will not know the names of the evaluators of the text. 

Articles are subject to anonymous assessments by a minimum of two external reviewers before being considered for publication by the editorial committee. 

 

Research Notes are submitted to an anonymous evaluation by at least one external reviewer before being considered for publication by the editorial committee.

 

Book Reviews and Review Essays are not subject to evaluation. 

 

The external reviewers render one of the following verdicts: 

1. Accept the manuscript for publication

2. Accept the manuscript with minor changes

3. Do not accept the manuscript unless the author makes major changes

4. The manuscript is rejected. 

The reviewer is invited to add comments relevant to the enhancement of the text. In cases where the two judgements are inconsistent, a third external review may be requested. 

 

Manuscripts submitted to Histoire sociale / Social History are peer-reviewed before being considered for publication by the editorial committee. When making a decision, the editorial committee systematically sends the anonymous reports of the evaluators to the authors. 

 

The decision to publish rests with the editorial committee and then the editorial board. It is made jointly with the guest editors of thematic sections or issues, if applicable. The decision of the journal is final.

Contractual Terms & Conditions

Submitting a text to Histoire sociale / Social History includes a commitment to no previous publication and to take steps towards a competing publication.

 

The author affirms that the article is original, that they are the author and the owner of the copyright. The author retains copyright. The author grants Histoire sociale/Social History an exclusive license for first publication and a non-exclusive license to reproduce and distribute the full article or excerpts thereof. 

 

Authors of accepted articles are required to sign a copyright agreement whereby the author agrees to transfer copyright to the publisher.

 

Manuscript Presentation

Please note: Do NOT format the document unless otherwise noted below. Your article will be formatted during the publication process.

General Formatting

Pages

• Page size: US letter (8.5” x 11”).

• Font: Times New Roman, 12.

• Margins: 2.54 cm (1”) all around.

• Page numbers: Bottom right of page, continual. 

• Spacing: Double spaced, with certain exceptions.

• Indentation: 1.27 cm (0.5”) at the beginning of paragraphs, with certain exceptions.

Text/Paragraphs

• All text (except for footnotes and extracted block quotations), including titles of headers, author names, books reviewed, and reviewers’ names and affiliations, should be double-spaced in the body of the text.

• Paragraphs should be indented 0.5” and left aligned except the following, which is to be flushed left, but not indented:

• The first line of the abstract;

• The first line of the first paragraph of an article or review;

• The first line of the first paragraph following a section header;

Extracted Block Quotations

Quotations of more than five lines should be extracted in a distinct paragraph, without quotation marks.

• Font: Times New Roman, 11

• Indentation: 1.27 (0.5”) on either side from the standard margins ( 3.81 cm [1.5”] on either side in total)

• Spacing: Single.

Footnotes

• Font: Times New Roman, 10

• Spacing: Single.

• Footnotes should be inserted in the text and appear at the bottom of the page, not at the end of the submission (for more information about citation style, see the section “Citations” below)

• To the degree possible, footnote numbers are to be placed at the end of sentences and after terminating punctuation or quotation marks. 

• Example: “His political career was shaped by the feeling of noblesse oblige.”24

 

Formatting for Articles and Research Notes

Titles

• Location: Top of first page.

• Spacing: Single.

• Font: Times New Roman, 12 (no italics, underlining, or bold).

• Alignment: Centre.

• Capitalization : Title case (ex: “Hogs, Cows, and Residents”)

• Combination titles are preferred, with an eye-catching suggestive component and a descriptive part that precisely and accurately makes clear the topic explored in the manuscript. 

• Subtitles should start on a second line, if possible.

Author’s Name

• Location: Top of first page, after title.

• Font: Times New Roman, 12.

• Capitalization: ALL CAPS

• Use the “effects” function in the font tab of Word to achieve this

• Alignment: Centre

• Asterisk footnote: The author’s name should be followed by an asterisk (*) footnote. The note should include the author’s affiliation only, followed by any acknowledgements they wish to include, written in the third person.  

Abstracts

• Location: Abstracts should follow the article’s title and the author’s name.

• Font: Times New Roman, 12, italicized.

• Length: Between 100 and 150 words. 

• Abstract translation: All abstracts will be followed by a translation into French (done by the journal). 

Keywords

• Location: Keywords will follow the French version of the abstract. 

• Font: Times New Roman, 12.

• Length: Between 7 and 8. 

• Abstracts should follow the article’s title and the author’s name.

• Though they are not included in the final, published version, keywords are used in the metadata to make the article discoverable online. 

Sections

Histoire sociale / Social History encourages all articles to include sections and for all sections to use titles. 

• Limit sections to 5 or 6. Do not exceed two levels of sub-section. 

• Do not title the first section “Introduction.”

• The first titled section follows the introduction.

Section Titles

• Font: Times New Roman, 12

• Section Titles are in Bold and use headline-style capitalization of titles. 

• If a Sub-Section Title is required, it is in Italic. 

• Though rare, if Sub-Sub-Sections are required, they are regular script. (A slight increase of space to differentiate subtitle and text will be applied during the typesetting process)

• Keep section titles short, so they can fit on one line. 

• Paragraphs following section titles are flush left, no indent. 

• Ex:

 

Section Title

Sub-Section Title

    Sub-Sub-Section Title

Sections to Include

• Introduction

• All articles should contain an introduction. 

• The introduction does not include a section title and follows immediately after the abstracts. 

• Introductions should contain a minimum of three, but would generally consist of between three and five paragraphs.

• Introductions should introduce the article by providing the following: 

1. Explaining the context needed to properly understand the body of the text; 

2. Setting the theoretical and methodological grounding of the narrative and analysis to follow; 

3. Situating the article’s main contributions within the appropriate historiography; and

4. Set up signposts for what follows in the article. 

• Conclusion

• All articles should include a concluding section, titled Conclusion. 

• Conclusions should be more than one paragraph, preferably three. 

• Conclusions should provide a fitting end to the narrative and analysis of the article. 

• Conclusions should reiterate and clearly articulate the main arguments presented in the text, though not simply repeat, verbatim, what has already been written.

 

Epigraphs and Exergues

• Epigraph and Exergue are short, introductory quotations placed at the beginning of an article.

• Authors are permitted to use an epigraph, if it is particularly well suited to the article.

• Epigraphs are treated like block quotes:

• Times New Roman,

• 11-point font, roman script.

• Single spaced

• If there is a quoted passage in the excerpt used, that passage will be in double quotations.

• Text is followed by attribution underneath as such:

– author name SURNAME, title of book in italic. 

• Epigraphs will be flush right set from 8.25 cm – 16.5 cm on the ruler in word. 

Figures, Tables, and Graphs

Figures (which include illustrations and photographs), Tables, Graphs (which include pie charts) referred to in the text must have appropriate titles or captions and must be numbered in Arabic numerals. The source should be indicated immediately below. Please provide high-resolution (150 DPI minimum) files of all images in their original formats. 

Authorizations 

All documents (illustrations, tables, etc.) must be free of rights (copyright, reproduction and distribution). The author of the work is responsible for requesting reproduction and dissemination, in both print and digital formats, from the copyright holder or his/her assignees, and/or the institution or organization that holds the reproduction rights, if applicable. Authorization will be provided with the manuscript.

Figures, Illustrations, and Maps

Figures offer visual representations that accompany and will be placed within the body of the text. They may include illustrations, photographs, or maps. Do not embed figures or illustrations directly into the word document. Provide them as separate documents in their original format. 

 

Please note that all illustrations—as well as some graphs, tables, and charts—now require alternative description in compliance with the OADA. Add the ALT-TEXT directly below the source information in the text in the document. For some guidelines on how to write alternative text for article images, please refer to the following source: https://accessibility.huit.harvard.edu/describe-content-images. 

 

Indicate their placement in the text by using the following style: 

 

{INSERT FIGURE 1}

 

Figure 1. Description of the figure.

Source: Reference material for the figure.

ALT-TEXT: Alternative text description. 

 

Figure numbers will be numbered followed by a period, followed by the description of the figure. 

 

Source information will be placed below the figure description line, following the figure. The word Source will be in italics. The source information follows the regular font. 

 

Provide a source line for each photograph, including any information about the photographer, the name of the collection, the date the photo was taken, and any other research information. If the photographs are the authors, please use the following as a source description: “Photograph courtesy of the author.” 

Illustrations 

Illustrations (photographs, drawings, maps, etc.): original format, preferably with a minimum 300dpi with explanatory or descriptive notes and the source. 

Tables 

Tables display data or statistics usually in columns.  

 

Table titles shall be capitalized using headline style, no punctuation at the end, as such: 

 

Table 1. Age of Population in Quebec

 

Source information will follow, beneath the tables, as such: 

 

Source: Place the source information below the table.

 

Notes applying to the whole table follows any source note and is introduced by the word Note, in italics followed by a colon.

 

Notes to specific parts of the table shall be placed directly in the table using superscript roman letters. The references will be placed directly below the table in superscript letters, as such: 

 

Source: Information pertaining to graph. 

a Footnote a.

b Footnote b.

 

See the following for examples: https://www.btb.termiumplus.gc.ca/tcdnstyl-chap?info0=11.15&lang=eng&lettr=indx256 

Graphs

Graphs are diagrams that convey visual representations of statistical information. If constructed directly in Microsoft Word, place tables directly in the document. Number tables in bold arabic numerals, followed by a period, followed by the title of the table as such: 

 

Graph 1. Age of Population

 

Source information will follow, beneath the graphs, as such: 

 

Source: Place the source information below the graph.

 

Notes applying to the whole graph follows any source note and is introduced by the word Note, in italics followed by a colon.

 

Notes to specific parts of the graph shall be placed directly in the graph using superscript roman letters. The references will be placed directly below the table in superscript letters, as such: 

 

Source: Information pertaining to graph. 

a Footnote a.

b Footnote b.

See the following for examples: https://www.btb.termiumplus.gc.ca/tcdnstyl-chap?info0=11.15&lang=eng&lettr=indx256 

 

Formatting for Book Reviews

Book review headings should, along with the following punctuation, indicate, in the following order: SURNAME of the author or editor (in full caps), author’s first name or initials – (an en-dash) Title of the Book (in italics). Place of publication: Publisher, date of publication. # (number of pages) p. [n.b. punctuation at the end of the header]
For example:

POLLARD, Sidney — Peaceful Conquest: The Industrialization of Europe, 1760–1970. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1981. 451 p.

WHITTLE, Jane, ed. — Servants in Rural Europe: 1400–1900. Woodbridge, UK: The Boydell Press, 2017. 284 p.

• In English-language reviews of French language books, the header is still formatted as above, but the capitalization for the title of the book would still follow the rules of French capitalization.

• For example:

DESSUREAULT, Christian — Le monde rural québécois aux XVIIIe et XIXe siècles : cultures, hiérarchies, pouvoirs. Montréal: Fides, 2018. 434 p. 

• If there are multiple authors or editors, all last names also appear in caps.

• For example:

CARLSON, Keith Thor, John Sutton LUTZ, David M. SCHAEPE, and Naxaxalhts’i (Albert “Sonny” McHALSIE), eds. — Towards a New Ethnohistory: Community-Engaged Scholarship Among the People of the River. Winnipeg: University of Manitoba Press, 2018. 289 p. 

• When mentioning the book under review in the review, only use the short title (no need for publication info or full titles, unless there is a point to adding it for the discussion).

• References to books other than those under review should be to a short title, followed by the date of publication in parentheses. (long titles are acceptable if the precise book may not be obvious to readers from the short title alone.)

• If including the year of publication is required, place the title in brackets, year of publication in square brackets, followed by the pages, if necessary. For example, the text would look like this  (James P. Cannon [2007], p. 12.). 

• Discussions of particular chapters in edited collections reviewed should include the chapter number and, if appropriate, titles directly in the text. Page number references are in parentheses.

• Following each quotation or specific page reference to the book, indicate in parentheses the page number (p. 42), inside the punctuation, from which it is taken or other pertinent reference. Do not use footnotes.

• For example: Dagenais points out that they “tended to look at the subject in a fragmentary fashion, focusing on infrastructure and human consumption, on hydrology, or on particular watercourses” (p. 4). 

• Reviewer’s name and affiliation should appear right aligned, name in Times New Roman font, affiliation italicized on the following line, in the following manner:

John Doe

University of Toronto

 

House Style

Histoire sociale / Social History has its own, unique style. It generally follows the principles laid out in The Canadian Style (TCS), supplemented by The Chicago Manual of Style Online (CMOS).

 

To get a sense of the standards of work presented in Histoire sociale / Social History, and for a good representation of the preferred House Style, please consult the following articles:

 

English:

David Merren, “‘Commend me the Yak’: The Colombo Plan, the Inuit of Ungava, and ‘Developing’ Canada’s North” (https://hssh.journals.yorku.ca/index.php/hssh/article/view/40653)

Ruth Frager and Carmela Patrias, “Welland Ontario’s Springfield Plan: Post-War Canadian Citizenship Training, American Style?” (https://hssh.journals.yorku.ca/index.php/hssh/article/view/40595)

 

French:

Noémie Charest-Bourdon et Martin Petitclerc, « Le “sou du pauvre” : les municipalités, l’indigence et l’accès aux soins hospitaliers au début du XXe siècle à Montréal » (https://hssh.journals.yorku.ca/index.php/hssh/article/view/40921) 

Thierry Nootens et Nathalie Ricard,« Petites gens, petites dettes : monétarisation de la vie sociale et rapports de domination dans le district judiciaire d’Arthabaska (Québec), 1880-1930 » (https://hssh.journals.yorku.ca/index.php/hssh/article/view/41083) 

 

Spelling, Usage, and Grammar

Spelling

Spelling generally follows the Canadian Oxford Dictionary, supplemented by the Oxford English Dictionary Online, Canadian spelling preferences, unless otherwise specified below. 

 

Please also refer to the “Terminology” and “Spelling Standard” sections below for examples specific to Histoire sociale / Social History.

Usage and Grammar

Usage generally follows H. W. Fowler, A Dictionary of Modern English Usage, supplemented with the Government of Canada’s “Writing Tips Plus” and “Termium Plus” as well as The Chicago Manual of Style Online. 

 

Some rules and preferences specific to Histoire sociale / Social History:

• Avoid the use of contractions;

• Avoid the use of the ungarnished “this” whenever possible to ensure clarity over what “this” refers to; 

• Avoid using redundant descriptive language in the introduction as signposts, such as “In the first part of this essay, we explore debates held in the house of lords …”  

• Preference is given to argumentative phrasing throughout the introduction and the body of the text, including as signposts, such as “debates held in the house of lords reveal …” 

• Use the present perfect tense when referring to arguments or interpretations by contemporary historians and the past tense when discussing material or arguments made in the past: 

• “As historian X or Y has argued…” rather than “As historian X or Y argues…” 

Phrasing

• Adverbial phrases follow the general, though not rigid, rule of manner-place-time. 

• Example: He went with his parents to the park on Friday.

• As a general rule, avoid overuse of adverbs at the beginning of sentences.

• Example: Avoid “Therefore”, “Whereby”, “However”, etc.

Inclusive Language

• Use inclusive language: “She and he” “she or he”. The use of the singular “they” is also permitted if the gender identity of the individual being spoken of is either unclear or left undetermined.

• Avoid slashes and/or constructions such as s/he, use “she or he” or singular “they” instead; himself/herself, use “himself or herself” or “themselves”  instead. We ask authors to verify the use of preferred pronouns.

Personal pronouns

• Though using first person pronoun “I” is permitted, especially when it is being employed for conceptual reasons in the paper, try to avoid writing by using personal pronouns, such as “in this article, I argue…” .  

Abbreviations

(TCS, chap. 1 and CMS, chap. 10) 

• p. (page) and pp. (pages)

• vol. (volume), no. (number), pt. (part)

• chap. (chapter, in footnotes)

• Use of Latin abbreviations (e.g., i.e., etc.) should be restricted to parentheses. In the text, they should be spelled out: for example, that is, and so on.

• Dr. (doctor)

• a.k.a

Acronyms and Initials

(TCS, chap. 1 and CMS, chap. 10) 

• Abbreviations for countries, provinces, and states, no periods: UK, US, BC, ON, NJ, PA.

• Space between initials in names: L. M. Montgomery; P. Whitney Lackenbauer.

• With certain exceptions, all acronyms and abbreviations must be spelled out and defined on first use. Some common abbreviations (e.g., DNA, HIV, NASA, RCMP) need not be spelled out (see TCS 1.02 and CMS 10.3).

Capitalization

(TCS, chap. 4 and CMS, chap. 8)

• In titles of books, articles, periodicals, newspapers, plays, operas and long musical compositions and recordings, poems, paintings, sculptures and motion pictures, capitalize headline style (CMS 8.159; slight differences at TCS 4.29), that is, capitalize all words except articles, prepositions, common coordinating conjunctions, parts of proper names that would be lowercase in the text (e.g., von, de). These exceptions are also capitalized when they immediately follow a period, colon or dash within a title and when they are the first or last word in a title.

• Silent changes of capitalization to opening letters within a quote are permitted to fit the quote to the syntax of a surrounding sentence. Any other modification of the original quotation or any words inserted by the author are enclosed in square brackets.

• Government bodies (TCS 4.05), Institutions (TCS 4.06), Titles of office, rank, or profession (TCS 4.08), Geographical Terms (TCS 4.21), Brands and companies, organizations.

• Parts of books (Chapter 2, Appendix C, Part II, etc., but second chapter [a descriptive phrase]) are always capitalized (TCS 4.30; c.f. CMS 8.180).

• Capitalize Indigenous when referring to people.

• Capitalize Black and White when used as racial terms.

• Church v. church: Catholic Church (capitalized when referring to the institution); church (lowercase, when using alone as a shorthand for the institution of the Catholic Church); and the Catholic church in Smalltown, ON (lowercase church when referring to a particular church), but St. Andrew’s Church (when referring to a specific building). (TCS 4.06, 4.22; CMS 8.96-102).

• For titles of office or rank, please refer to the Canadian Style. For matters not covered in TCS, please divert to CMOS.

• Capitalize a phrase in quotation marks if it forms a phrase on its own within the sentence.

• Following punctuation, such as colon, capitalize if the following phrase is an independent clause. 

• Do not capitalize manuscript sources: box, folder, file, vol., no., etc. 

Hyphenation

(TCS, chap 2. and CMS, chap. 7)

• As noted in both TCS and CMS, the trend is to move away from using hyphens with 1) prefixes (forming closed compounds), 2) commonly used forms that are now combined (handwritten), and 3) with compound adjectives where no ambiguity ensues from it being left open. (See table below for exceptions.)

• Hyphenate most compound adjectives (noun: middle class; adjective: middle-class women) when they precede a noun (but not with compounds where no ambiguity in meaning comes from omitting the hyphen, for instance in academic fields of study: young adult literature; border studies scholars).

• Terms like African American; Irish Catholic; French Canadian are never hyphenated, even as adjectives (TCS 2.0.4(l) and CMS 8.38 and 7.89).

• Do not hyphenate compounds between “ly” adverbs and adjectives (e.g., badly behaved; badly behaved child).

• Hyphenate compound adjectives beginning with better, best, ill, lower, little, or well before a noun, but do not hyphenate these after a noun.

• Hyphenate prefixes and capitalized terms (anti-American).

• Compounds made with combined forms do not require a hyphen (unless otherwise noted in the Compound Exceptions): socioeconomic.

• Use an en-dash in case of an open compound (Gemini Award–winning).

• Do not use hyphens at the end of lines in order to break up words

Compound Exceptions

• anti-slavery

• ethno-religious

• socio-cultural history

• anti-Semitism 

• Full-time and part-time

• post-war

Italics and Underlining

Employ italics, rather than underlining, for titles of books, unfamiliar or isolated words, and words or phrases from other languages. Use sparingly to place emphasis on particular words or phrases, use italics rather than scare quotes.

Punctuation and Spacing

Spacing

• All punctuation at the end of a sentence (period, question mark, exclamation point, colon, etc.), should be followed by a single space only and should not be preceded by a space.

• Use Non-breakable spaces (NBSP) for the following 

• Around ellipses{NSBP}…{NSBP}for example;

• Between numbers and dates, such January{NSBP}1, 1939;

• Before page numbers and ranges in footnotes: pp.{NSBP}22–33;

• Volume number and issues of journals: vol.{NBSP}14, No.{NBSP)12; 

• archival source information, such as box.{SBSP}12 or file{NBSP}13. 

• Between middle initial and last names: John B.{NBSP}Smith

• Monetary symbols: 50{NBSP}$

• other instances of numbers followed by symbol use, such as weight: 25{NBSP}kl.

Commas

• Use the serial comma—”Oxford” comma—to separate all elements in a series.

• Use commas after short initial adverbial phrases (ex: In 1960, ...)

Ellipses

(TCS 8.09 and CMS 13.50-58)

• Use the ellipses symbol (not individual periods followed by a space — ex: …vs ...) 

• If an ellipsis follows a sentence, it follows the period ending that sentence, as such at the end of this sentence. …

• If it ends with other punctuation, such as a question mark? … like this.   

• Do not use ellipses for omissions at beginning and end of quotations. 

• A space precedes and follows the ellipsis symbol … as such. 

En and em dashes

• Em dashes—such as the ones preceding and following this clause—should appear without surrounding spaces. These should replace spaced en-dashes – such as these – in the middle of sentences, if applicable.

• En-dashes are used for page numbers (pp. 245–247) and date ranges (replacing “to”) 1939–1945.

Quotation marks

• All quotations marks should be curly or “smart” quotes. All "straight" quotation marks, both single and double, (and apostrophes) should be replaced with curly quotes.

• Use quotations for reference to words used as such, rather than italics or underlines.

Quotations

(TCS, chap. 8 and CMS, chap. 13)

• Quotations of fewer than 5 lines should be run into the surrounding text and enclosed in “double quotation marks.” And quotes within quotes “should appear in ‘single’ quotation marks.”

• Quotations of more than five lines should form an indented paragraph, in 11-point font. Quotation marks are not needed for block quotes.

• Periods and commas should be placed inside quotation marks. Examples: “It was obvious,” stated the newspaper report, “that the crime was committed before midnight.” The report ended by regretting the increasing number of violent incidents by “gangs.”

• Colons and semicolons should be outside quotation marks.

• Exclamation and question marks inside if part of the quoted material, outside if not. 

• Quotations in English or French need not be translated. Quotations from other languages must be parenthetically translated into the language of the manuscript immediately following the quotation.

• An omission of quoted material within a single sentence should be indicated by an ellipsis. Exception is made when capitalizing the first letter of a quote. (See section “Ellipsis and Omissions below)

• Modification of the original quotation or any words inserted by the author are enclosed in square brackets.

• Use [sic] (italicized and enclosed in square brackets) to confirm the use or form of  original words in a quotation.

Translations

• Text or titles in either English or French do not require translations. 

• On first use, unfamiliar and isolated words and phrases from other languages (but not proper nouns or common phrases) should be italicized (and, if in a language other than French, parenthetically translated). 

• Quotations in languages other than English and French should be followed by a parenthetical translation.

• Titles of works in any language other than English or French require a translation—parenthetically in the text and in square brackets in the notes.

 

Numbers

(TCS, chap. 5 and CMS, chap. 9)

• Numbers under 10 are usually expressed in words (TCS 5.01 and CMS’s alternate rule at 9.3).

• Numbers greater than nine are generally expressed in numerals, unless they start a sentence.

• Large numbers: a combination of numerals and words for numbers of 1 million and more, regardless of whether they are round or not. 23 Million. 3.1 million.

• The percentage sign (%) is preferred, both in tables and in the text, and percentages are always given in numerals (8%, not 8 percent or eight percent or 8 per cent).

• Decimals should always be expressed in Arabic numerals, for example, 46.5%.

• Dates are shown as follows: the 1960s or the sixties; the early 1960s and the late 1970s, but the mid-1980s; September 24, 1979; the nineteenth century (but, nineteenth-century attitudes)

• Inclusive numbers for page and date ranges should always appear in full (1950–1975, not 1950-75).

• Money: isolated references to amounts of money are usually expressed in numerals (e.g., $0.95 or 95￠; $3,643; £10 15s. 6d.; £75) (TCS 5.11, CMS 9.20-21)

Source Citations

Footnotes

• To the degree possible, footnote numbers in the text are to be placed at the end of sentences and after terminating punctuation or quotation marks. Example: “His political career was shaped by the feeling of noblesse oblige.”24

• Citations should appear as footnotes at the bottom of each page, rather than as endnotes at the end of the article.

• Footnotes should be single spaced, in Times New Roman 10-point font.

• Footnotes generally follow the principles laid out in Chapter 14 of the 17th edition of the Chicago Manual of Style, but there are some important departures in style:

• Inclusive numbers in page ranges, as in date ranges, are never condensed or abbreviated; they are always given in full and preceded by the abbreviation for pages (pp. 1456–1457).

• The page number in a reference to a single page in a source is always preceded by the abbreviation “p.”

• In citations for journal articles, the title of the journal is always followed by a comma and the volume number preceded by the abbreviation “vol.” A comma rather than a colon follows close parenthesis after the season and date.

• The word “dissertation” is not abbreviated in those references

• References to manuscript or archival materials proceeds from general to specific, from the name of the repository down to the item.

• Use et al. for works with four or more authors or editors

• In short citations, avoid op. cit., loc. cit., and—following recent changes to the 17th ed of CMS—Ibid., by citing the author’s surname and a short version of the title. However, in a divergence from CMS, repeated consecutive references to the same work should always include the authors’ surname and the short form of the title.

 

Citations

First references

• On first mention in the text, include full bibliographic information, including the first names of authors.

Books:

1 James D. Young, The Rousing of the Scottish Working Class (Montréal and Kingston: McGill-Queen’s University Press, 1979), pp. 10–18, 104–106.

 

Editor as author:

1 James M. S. Careless, ed., The Pre-Confederation Premiers: Ontario Government Leaders, 1841–1867 (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1980).

2 Ania Loomba et al., eds., Postcolonial Studies and Beyond (Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 2005). 

 

Component part by one author in a work edited by another:

1 David A. Gerber “Disabled Veterans and the Wounds of War,” in Michael Rembis, Catherine Kudlick, and Kim E. Nielsen, eds., The Oxford Handbook of Disability History (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2018), pp. 477–502.

 

Article in a journal:

1 Sharon Myers, “‘Suffering from a sense of injustice’: Children’s Activism in Liberal State Formation at the Saint John Boys’ Industrial Home, 1927–1932,” Histoire sociale / Social History, vol. 52, no. 5 (May 2019), pp. 1–30.

2 Yves Landry, “Mortalité, nuptialité et canadianisation des troupes françaises de la guerre de Sept Ans,” Histoire sociale / Social History, vol. 12, no. 24 (November 1979), pp. 296–315. [n.b. French capitalization of article title]

 

Unpublished dissertations and theses:

1 Allan Greer, “Habitants of the Lower Richelieu: Rural Society in Three Quebec Parishes, 1740-–1840” (PhD dissertation, York University, 1980), pp. 136–138.

2 Eric Whan, “Improper Property: Squatters and the Idea of Property in the Eastern Townships of Lower Canada, 1838–1866” (master’s thesis, McGill University, 1996). 

 

Multivolume works as a whole:

1 David B. Quinn, ed. New American World: A Documentary History of North America to 1612, 5 vols. (New York: Arno Press, 1979).

 

One volume of a multivolume work:

1 Médéric-Louis-Elie Moreau de Saint-Méry, Loix et constitutions des colonies Françaises de l'amérique sous le vent, vol. 5 (Paris: Moreau de Saint-Méry, 1790). [volume in general]

2 Médéric-Louis-Elie Moreau de Saint-Méry, Loix et constitutions des colonies Françaises de l'amérique sous le vent, 5 vols. (Paris: Moreau de Saint-Méry, 1784-1790), vol. 5, pp. 653-655. [particular pages]

 

Short Forms

Subsequent references to works already cited, using works above as examples, are treated as follows:

1 Young, Rousing of the Scottish Working Class, pp. 70–77;

2 Careless, Pre-Confederation Premiers;

3 Loomba, Postcolonial Studies;

4 Johnson, “John A. Macdonald,” p. 201;

5 Myers, “‘Suffering from a sense of injustice,’” p. 23;

6 Landry, “Mortalité, nuptialité et canadianisation,” p. 301;

7 Greer, “Habitants of the Lower Richelieu,” pp. 122–129;

8 Quinn, New American World;

9 Moreau de Saint-Méry, Loix et constitutions des colonies, vol. 5, p. 654.

 

Citations for foreign-language books

Titles in languages other than English or French need to be translated. The translation follows the original title and is enclosed in square brackets, without italics or quotation marks. Capitalization follows the original bibliographic style.

1 Baek Yeonghun, “A-u-t’o-pan-e ppu-lin nun-mul” [Tears shed on the Autobahn] (Sejong City: Korea Industrial Development Institute, 1997).

 

Archival Sources

First references should be in the following order, which follows LAC’s recommendations for archival citations: 

• name of repository, 

• name of collection, 

• reference number, 

• volume or carton number, 

• box number, 

• folder name or number, 

• file name or number, 

• page, 

• folio or document number, 

• title or identification of document, 

• date. 

In subsequent references to a manuscript source, the name of the repository and other locating information may be abbreviated by the use of “hereafter.” 

Examples:

1 British Museum (hereafter BM), Liverpool Papers, Add MSS 33282, p. 94, William Shirley to Hawkesbury, April 23, 1791.

2 National Archives of Zimbabwe (hereafter NAZ), Harare, Zimbabwe, S2014/3/13/1, Smallpox – Districts (hereafter S-D), Chief Health Officer (hereafter CHO), Southern Rhodesia, to the Director of Medical Services (hereafter DMS) in Zomba, Nyasaland, October 8, 1946.

3 Archives nationales d’outre mer (hereafter ANOM), Etat-Civil, Petite Rivière de l’Artibonite, “Marie Victoire Mulâtresse,” August 13, 1748.

Short forms of manuscript references should include all information in the original reference, though in abbreviated forms, either indicated in the first reference with “hereafter” or through the use of surnames only and shortened document names:

1 BM, Liverpool Papers, Add MSS 33282, p. 94, Shirley to Hawkesbury, April 23, 1791.

2 NAZ, S2014/3/13/1, S-D, CHO, Southern Rhodesia, to the DMS in Zomba, Nyasaland, October 8, 1946.

3 ANOM, Etat-Civil, Petite Rivière de l’Artibonite, “Marie Victoire Mulâtresse,” August 13, 1748.

Examples from Library and Archives Canada (LAC)

1 Library and Archives Canada (hereafter LAC), Immigration Branch (hereafter IB) fonds, RG 76, vol. 860, file 555-53-1, pt. 1, “T.B. Refugee Family Movement - World Refugee Year - General File,” memo no. 59-18 from Chief of Operations, Department of Citizenship and Immigration (hereafter DCI), Ottawa to all immigration officers, November 4, 1959

2 LAC, IB fonds, RG 76, vol. 860, file 555-33-1, pt. 1, “T.B. Refugee Family Movement - World Refugee Year - General File,” memo no. 59-18 from Chief of Operations, DCI, Ottawa to all immigration officers, November 4, 1959.

3 LAC, Department of Health (hereafter DH), RG 29, vol. 3425, file 854-4-060, “Medical History Report” completed by Dr. A. Robichaud, December 22, 1956.

4 LAC, DH, RG 29, vol. 3425, file 854-4-060, “Medical History Report” completed by Dr. A. Robichaud, December 22, 1956.

5 LAC, Canadian Council on Social Development (hereafter CCSD), MG 28 I 10, vol. 25, file 118-1928, "Statement of Experience - Elizabeth King.”

6 LAC, CCSD, MG 28 I 10, vol. 25, file 118-1928, "Statement of Experience - Elizabeth King.”

 

Government Documents

Parliamentary debates 

1 Canada, Parliament, House of Commons Debates, 30th Parl., 2nd sess., vol. 3 (1976-77), pp. 2978-2979.

Statutes

Names of statutes are not italicized: 

Immigration Act, 1952, c. 42, s. 5.

Legal References

Egan v. Canada, [1995] 2 S.C.R. 513.

 

Statistical information and census

 

 List as many of the following elements in your citation as possible: 

 

·      author (author, principal investigator, corporate body or issuing agency responsible for content)

·      title (full title including subtitle with descriptive phrases, dates, geographic information. Note the catalogue number for Statistics Canada documents or Vnumber and table number for CANSIM.)

·      part (if part of a larger work, give the title of the specific part) - Note: this is similar to a chapter in an edited book.

·      medium (computer file) - Note: some citation styles require this; some don't.

·      edition or version if relevant

·      producer (who collected the data and where it was produced)

·      distributor (if the data is distributed by another agency, for example PCensus distributes Statistics Canada Census data)

·      date produced

·      series information if necessary (put this series information in parentheses; include part numbers) Note: the sample shows Census of Canada as a series title, but it may be better to put that information in the actual title and use this series information section for a Statistics Canada serial, like Juristat or The Daily. Most citation styles seem to use this simpler format.

·      access and availability information (internet url or DOI; where you accessed it if not on the internet; date of access)

 

If you use a table reproduced or reproduced in part from Statistics Canada sources, follow the editorial policy for how to footnote the table. Add complete source information in a footnote and use short form in subsequent notes. The footnote to the table begins with the word Source or Note in italics and followed by a colon. An example of each:

 

Here is an example of a Census profile accessed via the Statistics Canada Web site in Chicago Manual Style:

 

Statistics Canada. 2001 Census of Canada Census Profiles Marital status, common-law status, families, dwellings, and households Tables: Profile of Marital Status, Common-law Status, Families, Dwellings and Households, for Census Metropolitan Areas and Census Agglomerations, 2001 Census. Catalogue number 95F0487XCB2001004 in Statistics Canada [database online]. Ottawa, Ont., 2002, accessed April 7 2005, http://www12.statcan.ca/english/census01/products/standard/profiles/ListProducts.cfm?Temporal=2001&APATH=1&RL=3&FREE=0. 

 

Electronic Sources

• When electronic references have a known DOI, authors are encouraged to include them in the footnote.

• Authors are asked to check whether an electronic format of an article or book may have a DOI though they may be using the print copy. If they do, please include them. 

• URLs and DOIs should be hyperlinked and those links should be live working.

• Provide access dates for electronic sources that otherwise lack a date using the following format: accessed August 25, 2020. CMS (14.12) finds them of limited value, and generally advises against them, except in cases where no date of publication or revision can be determined. 

 

 

Terminology

Indigenous Peoples

There are comprehensive guides on Indigenous editorial standards and practices, such as Gregory Younging’s Elements of Indigenous Style: A Guide for Writing By and About Indigeneous Peoples. A quick guide  to help define Aboriginal Peoples in Canada, the US, and Australia can be found on the University of Victoria’s website, here: https://journals.uvic.ca/journalinfo/ijih/IJIHDefiningIndigenousPeoplesWithinCanada.pdf 

 

• The word “Indigenous” is capitalized when referring to Indigenous peoples.

• In the Canadian context, Indigenous is the preferred term.

• In the United States context, Native American and American Indian are also acceptable.

• Strive to use individual group names (Yupik, Navajo, Diné, Anishinaabe, Yaqui, etc).

Race & Ethnicity

• Capitalize Black and White when referring to racial categories

• “Asian” NOT “Oriental”

 

LGBTQ2+ 

A more in-depth guide is available at https://www.glaad.org/sites/default/files/GLAAD-Media-Reference-Guide-Tenth-Edition.pdf . Here are a few key terminological recommendations:

• “Transgender” NOT “transgendered”

• “Transgender person” and “transgender people” NOT “transgenders” or “a transgender”

• “Transition” NOT “sex change” or “pre/post - operative”

• “LGBT+ community” or “LGBTQ+ community” rather than “gay community”

• “Bisexual” NOT “bi-sexual”

• “Out” rather than “openly gay”

• Avoid the phrase “LGBTQ+ lifestyle”

• “Sexual orientation” rather than “sexual preference”

 

Spelling standards

• Aboriginal

• advise (v) vs. advice (n)

• age ten (not aged ten)

• Anglophone and Francophone when designating people, but lower case anglophone and francophone if used as an adjective

• amid (not amidst)

• among (not amongst)

• analyze, analyzes

• Black and White, when used as a racial category

• centralize

• centre, centred, centring

• colour, colouring

• enslaved peoples (rather than slaves)

• The First World War and the Second World War (rather than World War I)

• Grey

• Health care (rather than healthcare) and health-care as adjective

• honour

• Indigenous (when referring to people), but plants indigenous to the region

• labour

• license (v), licence (n), licensed (adj)

• Montréal, for the city, but Montrealer; but proper nouns, Bank of Montreal, keep original spelling (without accent, if the case). 

• PhD

• program

• The City of Québec; the province of Quebec

• with regard to 

• toward

• travelling, travelled

• UBC Press (not University of British Columbia Press in references)