About the Journal
Scope and Subject Matter of the Journal
“The Archive of Emigration. Studies – Essays – Documents” is the only academic journal in Poland devoted to the broadly understood culture of the Polish emigration of the 19th and 20th centuries, examined from historical, political, sociological, and spiritual perspectives. The journal also explores migration processes from Central Europe in the 20th and 21st centuries, placing them within their cultural context.
Each issue features studies in history and art history, literary analyses, biographical essays, and articles discussing the work of individual artists or figures active in the political or social life of the émigré community. The latter often form the basis of monographic issues, which to date have been dedicated to, among others, Jerzy Giedroyc, Stefania Kossowska, Józef Mackiewicz, Tymon Terlecki, Kazimierz Brandys, and Hilary.
An additional section of the journal includes émigré memoirs, collections of correspondence, studies of unpublished materials, and reprints of important yet forgotten or hard‑to‑access texts. The journal also publishes bibliographic lists, reviews, and discussions of works devoted to the émigré community.
Historical Overview
Until the late 1990s, research on the cultural output of the Polish diaspora, particularly that of the second half of the 20th century, was undertaken exclusively by journals published outside Poland, such as “Zeszyty Historyczne”, “Teki Historyczne”, “Pamiętnik Literacki”, “The Polish Review”, “Rocznik PTNnO”, as well as several less regularly issued periodicals. In the 1980s, this topic was addressed to a limited extent by underground journals. Only after the political changes in Poland at the turn of 1989 and 1990 did it become possible to engage in an uncensored and unrestrained discourse on emigration. Toruń was among the first academic centers to attempt to make up for the many years of research backlog.
The annual “Archive of Emigration” was established in 1998 on the initiative of the staff and collaborators of the Department of Polish Emigration Archives, an archival and research center operating at the University Library in Toruń since 1995. It is published as part of the series “Archive of Emigration. Studies and Materials on the History of Polish Emigration after 1939“, edited by Stefania Kossowska (until 2003) and Mirosław A. Supruniuk. Over more than twenty years, nearly 350 researchers from Poland, France, the United Kingdom, Italy, Israel, the United States, Canada, Hungary, Lithuania, and Russia, among other countries, have contributed to the journal.
Until October 2019, the journal was published by the University Library in Toruń, and since November 2019 it has been issued by the Department of Polish Emigration Archives, at the Faculty of Humanities of the Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń. Since 2000, the journal’s editorial board has awarded a prize for outstanding master’s and doctoral theses on the history of Polish emigration in the 20th century. The award has an international scope.
Peer Review Process
“The Archive of Emigration. Studies – Essays – Documents” is an academic journal that accepts for publication high‑quality articles that meet the standards of scholarly work. The journal employs an impartial, rigorous, and confidential peer‑review process aimed at ensuring the highest possible quality of published research and maintaining strong ethical standards.
The editorial board conducts an initial assessment of each submission, evaluating its relevance to the journal’s profile, substantive and linguistic quality, compliance with formal requirements, as well as originality and scholarly value. After preliminary acceptance, each text (excluding memoirs, reviews, notes, announcements, and similar materials) undergoes a double‑blind peer‑review process conducted under conditions of strict confidentiality. Anonymity is maintained at every stage. The editorial board ensures that reviewers have no institutional or personal ties to the author of the manuscript. Submitted articles are sent to reviewers with expertise in the relevant field or subject area. A comprehensive list of reviewers for texts published in a given issue of “The Archive of Emigration“ is made available on the journal’s website.
A manuscript that receives two positive reviews is accepted for publication. Two negative reviews result in the rejection of the submitted article. In the case of manuscripts that receive one positive and one negative review, the editorial board decides whether to reject them, accept them after necessary revisions, or refer them to a third reviewer. All reviews, editorial decisions, and related correspondence are archived in the editorial system.
The journal ensures full transparency of the review process in accordance with international standards.
Publishing Ethics Guidelines
The journal operates in accordance with the guidelines of the Code of Conduct of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE: https://publicationethics.org/) and the Code of Ethics for Researchers of the Polish Academy of Sciences (https://pan.pl/en/ethics-in-science/). These principles must be observed by all participants involved in the publication of scholarly articles in “The Archive of Emigration“. The editorial board ensures adherence to the highest ethical standards by requiring authors, reviewers, and editors to act in accordance with these norms. Violations of good research practices also include, among other things, “selective or inaccurate citation” and “participation in cartels of reviewers and authors colluding to mutually review each other’s publications”.
- Authors' Responsibilities
Authors must present research results honestly, fully, and accurately. Data and sources may not be falsified, fabricated, or manipulated. All interpretations must be grounded in the presented materials and in the methods applied.
Authors are required to submit original texts that have not been published elsewhere. An exception to this rule is permitted only when the text has previously been published in a language other than the version submitted to the journal; in such cases, the author must inform the editorial board and obtain its consent. All quotations, references to other authors’ works, and methodological inspirations must be clearly indicated in accordance with the journal’s technical requirements.
Manuscripts submitted to “The Archive of Emigration“ must be linguistically correct, and their layout, formatting, structure, citation style, bibliographic references, and other elements must comply with the journal’s guidelines. For manuscripts written in foreign languages, the author is responsible for ensuring that the text undergoes professional proofreading.
The editorial board of “The Archive of Emigration“ firmly opposes practices such as plagiarism (unacknowledged borrowing from other works), concealment of actual authorship (ghostwriting), and listing as authors individuals who did not make a significant contribution to the text (honorary or guest authorship). Each co-author submitting a manuscript is responsible for providing accurate information, consistent with the laws of Poland and the European Union, regarding the percentage contribution of all co-authors to the preparation of the article, including details of their affiliations. If any discrepancies are detected, the editorial board will notify the management of the research institution with which the submitting author is affiliated of the procedural violation and reserves the right to fully retract the article, i.e., remove it from the issue.
The author of the published text is responsible for all copyright and publishing rights related to the text and any accompanying illustrations.
If the author uses AI models (LLMs) in the substantive part of their work, they are required to disclose and describe the extent of such use.
Authors are required to disclose the sources of funding for the research presented in their submitted manuscript. All information regarding grants, scholarships, fellowships, and similar forms of support must be clearly indicated (e.g., in a footnote).
Authors are required to immediately notify the editorial board of any errors they discover in a published work. They shall cooperate in preparing a corrigendum, and in the case of serious factual inaccuracies or violations of publication ethics, they must be prepared for the unconditional retraction of the article and/or the reporting of misconduct.
- Reviewers' Responsibilities
Reviewers are guided above all by integrity and impartiality. They evaluate manuscripts solely on the basis of their scholarly merit, regardless of the author’s identity, affiliation, or expressed views. A review should be constructive, substantive, and provide clear guidance on the revisions required.
Reviewers treat all materials they receive as confidential and do not use them for their own research purposes. They do not disclose the content of the review or consult with third parties without the explicit consent of the editorial board.
Reviewers must disclose to the editorial board any potential conflicts of interest, such as academic collaboration, personal relationships, or competing research. If such a conflict arises, the reviewer must decline to prepare the review.
Reviewers agree to complete their reviews by the agreed-upon deadline; if they are unable to do so, they should notify the editorial board immediately.
- Editors' Responsibilities
The editors decide whether to accept, reject, or request revisions to a manuscript based on its scholarly quality, its alignment with the journal’s scope, and the reviewers’ assessments. These decisions must be made free from external pressure and conflicts of interest.
To ensure a rigorous peer‑review process, the editorial board takes care to select competent and independent reviewers. The process is transparent, fair, and conducted in accordance with the principles of publishing ethics.
To ensure confidentiality and data protection at every stage of preparing a manuscript for publication, editors do not disclose information about submitted works to unauthorized persons. The personal data of authors and reviewers, as well as the content of submitted manuscripts, are kept strictly confidential.
In cases of suspected scientific misconduct, the editorial board acts in accordance with COPE guidelines: it reviews the report; contacts the authors and, if necessary, their affiliated institutions; publishes relevant notices (e.g., errata); and, in cases of serious violations, removes the text and/or reports the misconduct to the authors’ institutions. The journal employs transparent, proportionate, and evidence‑based procedures for responding to allegations of scientific misconduct. Every report is taken seriously, and all actions are carried out with respect for the rights of all parties involved.
The editorial board promotes a culture of academic integrity and combats all forms of misconduct. At the same time, it ensures that clear guidelines are provided to authors and reviewers and that its publication‑ethics procedures are kept up to date.
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The editorial board reserves the right to decline a manuscript for publication at any stage of the publishing process if:
- the manuscript does not align with the journal’s mission or thematic focus;
- the manuscript receives a negative evaluation from the editorial board or reviewers;
- the manuscript has been previously published;
- there is suspicion that the manuscript is not an original work or that its co‑authors have been concealed;
- the manuscript does not meet the requirements for linguistic or formal correctness.
List of Reviewers for 2024–2025
Renata Dampc-Jarosz, post-doctoral degree, Prof. US (University of Silesia)
Prof. Waldemar Deluga (University of Ostrava)
Prof. Krystyna Heska-Kwaśniewicz (University of Silesia)
Anna Jamrozek-Sowa, post-doctoral degree, Prof. UR (University of Rzeszów)
Joanna Kisiel, post-doctoral degree, Prof. US (University of Silesia)
Prof. Piotr Mitzner (Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński University)
Ksenia Olkusz, post-doctoral degree (Facta Ficta Research Center)
Grzegorz Olszański, post-doctoral degree (University of Silesia)
Prof. Zbigniew Opacki (University of Gdańsk)
Prof. Jolanta Pasterska (University of Rzeszów)
Prof. Olga Płaszczewska (Jagiellonian University)
Radosław Sioma, post-doctoral degree, Prof. NCU (Nicolaus Copernicus University)
Justyna Sprutta, PhD
Barbara Stelingowska, post-doctoral degree, Prof. US (University of Siedlce)
Paweł Tański, post-doctoral degree, Prof. NCU (Nicolaus Copernicus University)
Paweł Tomczok, post-doctoral degree, Prof. US (University of Silesia)
Prof. Anna Wierzbicka (Institute of Art, Polish Academy of Sciences)
Jan Wolski, post-doctoral degree, Prof. UR (University of Rzeszów)
Prof. Leszek Zasztowt (University of Warsaw)
Prof. Radosław Żurawski vel Grajewski (University of Łódź)
Statement on the Waiver of Fees
Please note that no fees are charged for submitting, editing, or publishing articles in our journal.
Open Access Policy
The journal is published in an Open Access model under a non‑exclusive Creative Commons license (CC BY‑ND 4.0), which requires proper attribution and prohibits the creation of derivative works (key terms; full text of the license).
