Insights offers a space in which aspiring and established authors are encouraged to discuss their experiences concerning both emerging and established topics relating to the anthropology of the Asia-Pacific.

Shorter than full-length peer reviewed articles, contributions should be 500-2,000 words in length, and aim to provide an informed discussion based on ethnographic or theoretical insights. Authors are encouraged to use these insights to build ideas or describe aspects of their research that they may later use in further conceptual developments within their future research.

While contributions should adhere to the formatting, editorial policy, and style guidelines of TAPJA, Insight aims to capture the rich and often messy transition between ethnographic experience and a full academic article.

Insights consist of four formats: 

Insight Horizons – Horizons explore empirical and theoretical developments in relation to the anthropology of the Asia Pacific. The format is flexible and can include short essays with photos, audio and visual material. The aim is to provide a space for authors to experiment with forms of inquiry and research presentation, and to thereby develop new approaches of anthropological concern. Potential contributors can begin with a reflection on current literature or their own engagement in a topic but are encouraged to clearly identify a question they wish to approach and emphasise why a new attitude may be enlightening to a particular topic. They do not necessarily have to offer concrete conclusions but point to new and novel ways of approaching anthropological knowledge or questions.  

Insight Emersions – Emersions place one’s ethnographic experience in the Asia Pacific at the heart of the contribution. They differ from Horizons as they foreground insights that emerge specifically from ethnographic interactions. These contributions should be reflexive and provide ethically sound and rich examples that weave together the voices of one’s participants with one’s own topics, and what can be learned from local knowledge or expertise. The focus should be on what can be learned inductively from an engagement with others through the ethnographic experience.

Insight Dialogues – Dialogues focus on a pre-announced topic selected by the editorial collective or a guest editor. Topics may include important debates within and beyond the discipline, as well as current news events, and are explored with the aim of providing insight into the anthropology of the Asia Pacific. Guest-contributors are welcome to get in touch should they believe a recent panel or workshop of theirs can offer an insightful debate.

TAPJA publishes 5 issues per year and aims to include up to 3 Insights within each issue. While contributions will be subject to necessary publishing schedules and quotas, Insights will also be treated as a continuous repository or living archive. As such, contributors should feel free to quote or reflect on previous Insights, although this is not a requirement for submission. We invite individuals to contribute as:

Individual or Multiple Entry Authors - Entries for Horizons, Emersions, Dialogues, or Book Reviews can be submitted as sole-authored or co-authored contributions. Apart from Dialogues, there is no submission deadline. Contributions should be written in accordance with the TAPJA style guide and sent to the short-essay editor at c.chaplin@lse.ac.uk.

Guest Curators - In addition to individual entries, contributors can propose a theme, emerging trend, or debate topic upon which a series of contributions will be based. If accepted, you as guest curator will be expected to solicit entries and ensure contributions speak to the proposed topic. Please get in touch with the short-essay editor with a proposed theme, list of potential contributors (if known) and expected date of submissions.

Interested authors should send their submissions or questions to the short-essay editor at c.chaplin@lse.ac.uk and cc tapja@anu.edu.au. While contributions will be reviewed, they will not undergo double blind peer review. They will, upon being received, initially be checked to ensure they adhere to the style guidelines, word limits and editorial policy of TAPJA. Once this initial check is complete, they will be reviewed by the short-essay editor alongside one additional member of the editorial collective, selected for their thematic or geographical expertise. Potential contributors will then be informed if their contribution is accepted by the journal and what corrections may be required prior to publication.