Call for Papers
The Classic Journal is dedicated to showcasing critical writing and research composed by University of Georgia undergraduate students. Work from or inspired by Writing Intensive Program courses, as well as writing-intensive courses across the disciplines and upper-division courses with a major writing component will be considered for publication by a multi-disciplinary editorial team of faculty and graduate students.
Undergraduate students can submit essays, reviews, and alternative projects from any field or program of study across the UGA curriculum. This format allows students from different disciplines to present their research to a larger audience. Through a rigorous editorial process, students receive valuable feedback on their written work from graduate students trained to coach writing in the disciplines, while also learning the value of revising, editing, and publishing academic papers.
As well, faculty and graduate students who teach upper-division courses in the disciplines that involve a writing project are encouraged to nominate student work for consideration. Nominations can come from courses supported by the Writing Intensive Program, carrying the W suffix, or involving a writing component. The nomination form can be found here, as well as on the Nominate page.
Classic Features
Classic Features are extended works of scholarship. Students from any discipline are encouraged to submit critical essays, research papers, analyses, proofs, and proposals. This category allows students from different disciplines to present their research projects to a larger audience.
Classic Reviews
Classic Reviews are shorter works that provide scholarly opinions based on the quality, condition, and importance of books, plays, music, and/or scientific discoveries in our community as well as in the world at large. Reviews present critical looks that go beyond summaries or general reports to engage with the materials from different perspectives or present new understandings.
Examples:
- a book review might examine the author’s choice of characters and/or plot and how those aspects of the book reflect current social and/or cultural attitudes
- a music review, or an album review, might look at how the album functions as a complete narrative (e.g., Kendrick Lamar’s To Pimp a Butterfly might be interesting album to explore from that perspective). A review could also explore a particular sound palette that is unusual within the conventions of the genre it has been placed in by the marketplace.
- a review of a scientific discovery/study might explore the implications of the discovery/study on a local level or for the field in general. For example, a new scientific discovery might have positive or negative implications on a community, or the project might have particular problems to explore within the scientific community from an ethical standpoint.
Classic Alternatives
Classic Alternatives offer a more creative outlet for critical work. They highlight the various ways students express intellectual discovery and critical insight through mediums other than/alongside written communication.
Examples:
- a visual argument, such as a map or series of photographs
- a multimedia/multimodal argument
- a portfolio or exhbit
Accompanying these types of submissions, writers might want to include a written explanation of the goals, decisions, and issues the author/composer/artist encountered during the writing process.
Alternatives might also take the form of class assignments beyond the essay that offer insight into the inner workings of a student’s particular field. For example, biology students could submit letters (e.g. Water Quality letter), articles (e.g. Carb Cutter article), or even fliers. (Note: There could be many submissions from large classes that do these similar projects, and The Classic Journal will take the most outstanding for consideration for publication.) Blog posts or other digital media projects would also fall into this category. Especially strong reading responses, essays covers, or problem sets could also be considered alternatives.
The Classic Journal invites all undergraduate UGA students who have taken or are currently enrolled in writing-intensive courses to submit their work to be considered for publication. This is a great opportunity for students to share work completed for/inspired by writing assignments with a larger audience.