The theme of ISJR 2021, Exploring Justice: Terra firma and terra incognita, is intended to encourage submissions investigating established areas of research as well as areas of research that are less explored.

Research that is more terra firma would tend to build on existing constructs, frameworks, models, and paradigms. It would examine consequences of known types of social justice and use more established methodologies. Terra firma topics could include timeless issues such as just world beliefs, social equality, ethical reasoning, organizational justice, and a range of consequences of social justice.

Research that is more terra incognita is likely to focus on less explored topics, use novel methodologies, identify fresh perspectives and questions relating to social justice, and propose new antecedents of social justice. Terra incognita topics could include research exploring new forms of justice (environmental, intergenerational, ageist), links to neuroscience, physical and mental health, intersectional identity, or whether and how justice may be nudged. Social justice issues relating to the ongoing COVID-19 epidemic may also generate a range of promising terra incognita topics.

Of course, researchers can uncover and investigate novel and unexplored aspects of familiar terrain, and extend solid foundations developed in one area to less explored territories. The key requirement is that papers contribute to our understanding of social justice issues, either by deepening our understanding in established areas or by extending and challenging existing approaches to social justice – or both.