The editors of JOSTES are seeking scholarly articles between 5,000 and 8,000 words which address their theme: “The Sacrifice of Survival.” They encourage contributors to reflect on English Studies (both undergraduate and graduate) and themes that reflect the idea of survival, narrowly or broadly, literally or metaphorically, personally or professionally. The editors are interested in submissions from literature (American, British, or other literature written in English), linguistics, rhetoric, composition, literary theory, pedagogy and the English classroom, and academia itself.
With this Spring 2017 issue, the journal introduces the first in its planned biennial English Studies/Social Sciences interdisciplinary issue (once every other spring issue). Therefore, it also encourages contributions that speak to the same theme of survival in the Social Sciences, especially Public Administration, Political Science, and Public Policy and Management Studies. The editors would especially welcome articles that consider the intersection of English Studies and the Social Sciences. Suggested topics include, but are not limited to, the following:
Academia
- In an increasingly STEM-focused educational environment, what strategies, innovations, collaborations, and compromises can English Studies particularly and Liberal Arts more generally engage in to ensure that we not only survive but prevail?
Literature
- How have authors’ own experiences of survival and endurance shaped certain literary texts?
- How does literature discuss the idea of survival, endurance, sacrifice, compromise, and eventual thriving and prevailing?
- The literal and/or metaphorical survival and endurance of characters within poetry and fiction
- Survival and endurance themes in children’s and adolescent literature
- Close readings of published or archived memoirs, diaries, journals, autobiographies, and biographies with themes of survival and endurance
Sociolinguistics
- How may endangered languages survive the threat of imminent extinction and in some cases even prevail and experience revitalization in a new generation of speakers?
- How do speakers of non-standard languages or minority languages maintain their languages as essential components of their identity in the face of pressure from more powerful or prestigious languages?
Rhetoric & Composition
- How do various identities demonstrate resistance and endurance in texts?
- How do rhetorical modes persist in new (social) media?
- How have rhetoric and composition resisted or survived changes in political, social, educational, economic (etc.) climates?
Pedagogy in the English Classroom
- In their effort to teach/ mentor marginalized students, what are the unique roles of English instructors?
- The editors welcome narratives, case-studies that demonstrate English service-learning courses and their impact in and work with marginalized communities.
Public Administration/Political Science/Public Policy and Management Studies
- Does the Trump government call into question the survival of public administration in the U.S.?
- In politics, is survival synonymous with good government (and good management)?
Interdisciplinary English Studies/Social Sciences
- How do English Studies define the survival of societies? Is survival in English Studies understood the same way it is in Anthropology, Economics, or Sociology (or other Social Sciences)?
- Do English Studies foster the survival of our civilization?
All submissions, including book reviews, must be original work and not be under consideration elsewhere. Please attach submissions as a single Microsoft Word or RTF document (no PDF documents) and e-mail it to southtexasenglishstudies@gmail.com with the subject line “article.”
The journal also accepts book reviews of scholarly, non-fiction, and fiction up to 500 words. Preference will be given to book reviews of works that are related to the current issue’s theme, but the editors will consider other book reviews as well. Attach submissions as a single Microsoft Word or RTF document (no PDF documents) and e-mail them to southtexasenglishstudies@gmail.com with the subject line “book review.”
The deadline for submissions is May 15, 2017. For additional information, including submission guidelines, please visit the journal’s website: http://www.southtexasenglish.blogspot.com/