Student Scholarship, Preserved for Posterity

Although GURJ may not be the most popular acronym on campus (Grinnell has a plethora), the Grinnell Undergraduate Research Journal is poised to make a splash with its recent move to an open-access online format. While the journal has been in existence for three years, the Spring 2016 issue was the first to be published on Digital Grinnell, the College’s online repository for scholarly and creative work. Emma Lange ’16, last year’s editor-in-chief, initiated and oversaw the move with help from layout chief Abdiel Lopez ’18.

The interdisciplinary journal features academic papers and creative work from students of all majors.

The Write Stuff

Although GURJ does not have an article quota, just 30% of last year’s submissions were accepted for publication. What does it take for a paper to make it past the review board?

While technical excellence is always appreciated, GURJ is more interested in promoting originality and passion, says Michelle Risacher ’17, interdisciplinary editor.

“If you find a paper that you were really engaged in, that you were excited to write about, that’s usually a good place to start. We’re not necessarily looking for perfect grammar. We look for original arguments, preferably ones where the political stakes are high.”

Most importantly, she adds, “We’re looking for someone who’s invested in the project of the paper beyond the paper itself.”

Open-Access Concerns Inform Content, Process, and Format

A commitment to maximum availability guides every step of the GURJ process, from paper selection to editorial review. Students are encouraged to submit work that will engage a broad readership, and both student and faculty reviewers read papers from outside their academic discipline.

This focus on interdisciplinarity serves two purposes. First, it ensures that each paper will resonate with a diverse audience, ranging from peers and parents to prospective students and potential employers. Second, it highlights Grinnell’s distinctive commitment to teaching and learning beyond boundaries, disciplinary or otherwise.

With its recent move online, GURJ has extended its commitment to access even further. “With print publications, students traditionally save a few copies to hide in a box in their basement for years,” says Lange. In its new digital format, however, GURJ has become permanently available to anyone with an Internet connection who wishes to peek inside the minds of Grinnell’s student scholars.

Student-led, faculty-advised, boundary-breaking, and committed to open access: in both form and function, GURJ is a uniquely Grinnellian product.

A call for papers for the 2016-17 issue will be announced in early spring 2017.