Calls For Papers
Fall/Winter 2025: Alien encounter narratives in judicial proceedings
Volume editor: Professor Michael Bohlander - Chair in Global Law and SETI Policy| Durham University, UK
About the special issue
The reluctance of the vast majority of SETI and some UAP researchers to take non-repeatable personal alien encounter narratives into account is a staple trope in the general alien encounter and UAP debate. However, the proof of the pudding would seem to lie in investigating the very practical consequences of the use of encounter testimony of all sorts in legal proceedings, for example, when examining how courts would react to a claim that somebody had a car accident because she was buzzed by a UFO or distracted by a sighting while driving etc. In the age of increasingly ubiquitous dashcam footage, for example, we might now even have new sources of evidence to complement the personal narrative.
The papers invited for this special issue are meant to engage with the rules of the evaluation of evidence in court proceedings, take a look at the principles of forensic witness psychology, and how the interplay might influence the outcome of a case in real life. After an initial survey of potential past court cases involving alien encounter narratives of any kind in their respective countries, the papers will focus on two case studies – one civil and one criminal law – to be addressed according to each author’s domestic legal system, and on a third case study on general witness psychology.
Instructions for authors
•For the purposes of maximum comparability, authors will be asked to adhere to a general research grid.
•The case studies may exceptionally need some minor adaptation to the relevant domestic jurisdictions based on their general procedural law and rules. Authors should make it clear before each scenario and in the text, why and how they have amended it. Care should be taken to stay as close as possible to the originals. Authors should consult with Professor Bohlander before doing so.
•Papers must not be longer than 10,000 words, including footnotes. The case studies shall not be reproduced in the papers, except to the extent that they have been adapted (see above).
•For the journal’s style guide and submission process, see:
https://limina.uapstudies.org/authors
•Expressions of interest (except Germany) – with a short bio on the legal background, qualifications and experience of each author (250 words) – should be sent via email to Professor Bohlander at michael.bohlander@durham.ac.uk. Being the first to submit for a certain jurisdiction does, however, not necessarily guarantee acceptance.
•Contributors shall be responsible for native-speaker language editing of their manuscripts before submission, if English is not their mother tongue or usual working language.
•Selected contributors will thereafter be sent the research grid and the case studies.
The deadline for expressions of interest is 31 October 2024.
The deadline for submission of the first draft of the full papers is 31 October 2025.
**Publication of the special issue is planned for the first half of 2026**
Winter/Spring 2025: UAP & The Global South (Tentative)
Treatment of the subject of UAP tends to be focused on encounters, reports and scholarship emerging from the Global North (Europe, North America), whereas it has long been acknowledged that the phenomenon is quite global in extent. Some of the most famous UAP incidents on record (such as those in rural Zimbabwe and in Colares in Brazil) have occured in the Global South, thereby intersecting with cultures and epistemologies operating comfortably outside the presuppositions of those endemic to the Global North (the secular materialism of technoscientific capitalism, for example). This call for papers seeks high-quality manuscripts which either: (1) address or problematize this lack, possibly framing the issue within colonial/post-colonial studies more broadly; (2) engage directly with the subject of UAP from within the cultures and discourses of the Global South; or (3) provide a scholarly engagement with, intervention in, and/or assessment of how the alternative epistemologies of the Global South have received and/or theorized UAP, or how the experience of UAP has been framed and narrated in the epistemologies of the Global South.
What Our Calls for Papers Will Involve
Theme(s)
Limina will be inviting scholars to contribute to a planned future issue exploring various themes in contemporary UAP Studies. Our calls for papers will seek high-quality, original research articles, reviews, and theoretical papers that contribute to the scholarly discourse within our emerging field.
Scope
Papers submitted for consideration might be asked to address certain key sub-themes, narrowing the scope of the CFP.
Submission Guidelines
We will welcome submissions that adhere to the following guidelines:
- Manuscripts should be original and consistent with the requirements as outlined on our Authors page.
- Submissions should be formatted according to the guidelines available here.
- Manuscripts must be submitted electronically through the our Scholastica online submission system.
- All submissions will pass through our usual rigorous peer-review process.
Important Dates
The following timeline will be made available once our CFP is deployed:
- Submission Deadline
- Notification of Acceptance of Manuscript
- Final Manuscript Due (Following Peer Review)
- Publication Date (Excepted)
Review Process
All submitted papers will undergo a double-blind peer-review process, ensuring the highest standards of quality and objectivity. Authors will receive feedback from reviewers, and the final selection will be based on the significance, originality, clarity, and relevance of the contribution to the field.
Guest Editors
CFPs will be accompanied by the announcement of a series of special editors who will handle manuscripts submitted to a thematic CFP. The special guest editors will be listed accordingly.
Inquiries
As with any inquiry for the journal, those prospective authors requiring more information should please contact the editorial team at editor@limina.uapstudies.org
We look forward to receiving the many valuable contributions from our scholarly community, and hope to foster meaningful discussions in due course.
