Editorial Note

The publication of the previous issues of Critical Literary Studies was vastly welcomed and genially received by the researchers in the area of English literature, critical theory and cultural studies in both Iran and neighboring countries. The CLS journal now enjoys a wide popularity among the scholars of the filed, and we fortunately receive a relatively high number of papers that are mostly distinguishable and appealing in their argument, methodology, and scope. For the past two years, CLS has been effectively playing a considerable role in promoting studies conducted in the area of literature, criticism and theory, and will be further presenting world-class research to both our Iranian and international readers and researchers. The present issue of the journal, too, includes twelve original research papers that have already went through the peer review process and were minutely examined by the journal’s reviewers and editors. All the issues of the journal are available in both paperback and electronic versions.

Critical Literary Studies is the first and, for the present, the only academic English journal fully dedicated to the area of English literature and literary theory in the Iranian academic discourse. The editorial board of the journal includes prolific academicians and versatile researches all known and well-liked for their high standard researches, innovations, and sense of perseverance. The contributors to the journal are mostly young researchers and doctoral candidates in the field; however, we have also published the papers of the outstanding figures of the field in Iran. The CLS ’s team of reviewers includes members form different universities both in Iran and abroad. The papers published by the journal are all closely read by the technical editors who acutely check the citations and sources. The papers are then sent to the literary editors for stylistic revision in terms of the guidelines of Standard academic English. Furthermore, the Persian abstract of the papers are keenly revised by the Persian editors of the journal according to the instructions of The Academy of Persian Language and Literature. It is only after these stages that the journal’s DOI is offered to the papers, designating the immediate publication of the paper.

Critical Literary Studies received its license from the Iranian Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance on 28 August 2018 with the license Number 79848. In 2019, CLS applied to be examined by the Academic Journals Committee of the Iranian Ministry of Science, Research and Technology. The journal successfully achieved a high grade in the evaluation process conducted by the Ministry’s Academic Journals Committee. CLS is now ranked 'B' by having obtained 737.5 points out of 1000 from the Iranian Ministry of Science, Research and Technology. Approved and indexed by the Ministry for the present, the CLS journal hopefully will be soon marked with an established IF (i.e. Impact Factor). CLS is also indexed in a number of domestic, regional, and international academic databases and indexing centers. However, our major goal is, first, to win a place in the indexing and abstracting grade of the ISC, which is the Islamic World Science Citation Centre. Secondly, the journal; will soon apply to be indexed by Scopus at Elsevier in order to be globally acknowledged.

As a final point, I would like to thank the editorial members of the journal for their helpful advices and constructive comments. I am also thankful to the journal’s reviewers who judiciously examined the manuscripts and recommended their insightful suggestions to the authors. My gratitude goes to the team of technical and literary editors for reading through from the texts line by line. My thanks go to the Persian language editors of the journal who have carefully revised and edited the Persian translation of the abstracts. I should express my gratitude to the executive manager of the journal for the positive role he plays in the development of the journal. I also thank my colleagues at the Faculty of Language and Literature of the University of Kurdistan in Sanandaj for their helpful suggestions concerning the further advancement of the journal. I also offer my sincere thanks to the authorities at the Research Department of the UOK for their pragmatic assistance and informative remarks. I appreciate the friendly environment of the CLS office and, particularly, the invaluable attempts of the journal’s team of editors. I am also thankful to the administrative staff of the journal.

The members of the CLS team of reviewers and editors look forward to reading the original submissions of the distinguished scholars and, particularly, those of the young and productive researchers in the field. The journal’s editorial board takes an objective and constructive approach to the process of peer reviewing through focusing on the evaluation of each manuscript in terms of its own scholarly merits and research integrity. CLS follows the COPE, Committee on Publication Ethics, and Creative Common, and complies with the highest ethical standards in accordance with ethical laws. All the submitted manuscripts are thus checked for similarity through reliable software. This treatment will certainly play an inventive role in the upgrading of academic researches, especially when the papers are published on a global scale.

Bakhtiar Sadjadi

Director-in-Charge of the CLS  Journal 

Associate Professor of Language and Literature

30 September 2020