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Political Science

First Issue of Live Ideas: Undergraduate Primary Texts Journal Published

The first issue Live Ideas: Undergraduate Primary Texts Journal was published on February 15, 2019 and the second edition on April 15, 2019. The journal is a place to showcase undergraduate artwork, short stories, poetry, essays, and longer articles and reviews.  Live Ideas is an open-access, peer-reviewed, and co-produced by faculty and students that is published on a quarterly basis.  The mission of the journal is to “provide a platform from which undergraduates can express their original ideas or add to the conversations of existing ideas in creative, unbounded, and meaningful ways.”

Laurie Johnson, Director of the Primary Texts Program and professor of political science, is the faculty advisor for the journal. To open the first edition of Live Ideas she and Jakob Hanschu, senior in anthropology and geography, provide commentary on the process of developing the journal and its goals in an interview with the editors.  Johnson speaks to the purpose of the journal by stating: “a big problem in academia is that we have a tendency to poorly communicate our findings and ideas to general audiences, which limits our impact.  There’s a growing interest in taking knowledge generated by academics and translating it into something interesting to the average reader.  I see this journal as a place for students to learn how to do that. As scholars, we have an obligation and responsibility to get these good ideas out there, out to the public who can use them or at least enjoy them, depending on what it is they’re reading” (3).

Jakob Hanschu served as an editor for Live Ideas and sees this experience contributing to his understanding of being in a collaborative community as well as shaping his understanding of research as “creative inquiry.”  When asked about his experience, Jakob shared that “working off a ‘vision’ rather than a structured plan made the journal adaptable in an organic type of way. Having a type of horizon to work towards, rather than a firm goal or set of coordinates allowed for things to evolve through time. The journal came about in the same way that humans acquire knowledge, through a process of wayfaring. I think this developmental process really hits at the core of what Live Ideas is meant to be: a journal by students for students, always, but perhaps even more so, a journal that is alive.”  Jakob’s involvement in the journal has influenced his future goals. After graduating K-State in May, he will attend the University of Nottingham, in the United Kingdom, as a Fulbright award recipient. He will study critical theory and politics, and his goal is to complete a Ph.D. and become a university professor.

You can read the interesting and thought-provoking works published in the first and second edition of Live Ideas at: https://liveideasjournal.org/.

Kudos to Dr. Johnson, the journal editors, and the student contributors for their great success with starting this journal!

 

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