The Journal of Contemporary Asia, a Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI)-indexed, top-ranking journal in the field of Asian studies, relocated its institutional base to the University of Macau (UM) Centre for Macau Studies (CMS) in February 2018. The move signifies the increasing academic standing of UM in the areas of social and regional studies.
The Journal of Contemporary Asia is a long-standing, peer-reviewed English journal with an international reputation. It was founded in 1970, and is currently published by Taylor and Francis. The journal publishes articles that deal with the broad problems of economic, political, and social developments of Asia. In particular, the journal has a strong interest in theoretically-informed research, and promotes the works of Asia-based researchers. According to the 2017 Journal Citation Report, the Journal of Contemporary Asia has an impact factor of 1.141 and has been ranked No 7 in the category of area studies and No 2 in Asian studies.
Prof Agnes Lam, Acting Director of the CMS, said that the move of the journal’s base to the CMS is timely, since the centre plans to strengthen its capacity in social science research and to situate Macao studies in broader Asian perspectives. The relocation will help to develop research profile and link scholars in Macao to more Asian regions as well as the One Belt One Road initiative. The setup will also bring in new expertise. The journal’s Editor-in-Chief Prof Kevin Hewison, together with its co-editors, have been appointed adjunct professors of the centre. Prof Ngo Tak-Wing from UM’s Faculty of Social Sciences will join the editorial team as a co-editor. Prof Ngo is concurrently the editor of China Information, another SSCI-indexed journal hosted by UM.
