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Graduate Student IR Journal
Vision and Rationale
The multitude of theoretical approaches and concepts in International Relations (IR) presents several challenges to teaching and learning. In addition to a fairly imposing canon of ‘traditional’ approaches, the field of IR has seen the profusion of a wide variety of theoretical innovations and challenges. Instructors of IR struggle to cover canonical material and can find it difficult to allocate ample time for the investigation of more recent conceptual developments and debates.
This journal will provide a forum for the exploration of advanced concepts in IR theory, with an emphasis on teaching innovation and excellence. The journal will hold as a guiding philosophy the idea that accessibility and intelligibility are academic virtues worth fostering, as well as the assertion that an author who artfully balances nuance with lucidity in order to make difficult material accessible makes an important and worthwhile scholarly contribution to the field. Rather than showcasing research on the frontiers of the discipline, it will favour submissions that frame introductions to key concepts, thinkers and debates, in original and thoughtful ways, in order to facilitate intellectual engagement and exploration without sacrificing intellectual sophistication.
In order to promote accessibility, the journal will use an innovative mixed-media format wherein submissions will include both a text-based ‘article’ component and a related multimedia ‘lecture’ component, a combination analogous to an author’s contribution to a traditional disciplinary conference experience. In order to promote a high standard of quality, submissions will be subject to a process of anonymous peer-review. Unlike most journals, however, this process will include additional opportunities for a participatory dynamic of online conversation, interaction and engagement that takes place in concert with the traditional review process, helping to shape the publication in its final form. The practical result will be a podcast matched with a citable text reference, with both components augmented by an ongoing web-based discussion.
It is important to note that this project will commence in September 2009, at the same time that a new Masters program in IR starts within the Department of Political Science.
For further information, please contact us at: bcgp@mcmaster.ca
