This fall, after noticing that there were many students who were hesitant or lacked access to submit to large academic journals, a group of UMW students decided to found Columns, the Mary Washington Humanities and Social Science Journal. Columns provides an important resource and opportunity for students to learn how to be published in a journal, which is important for students of the humanities and social sciences, especially post-Covid. The Administrative Board includes President Kathleen Gruber, Vice President Ricky Munoz, Treasurer Liam Kiely, and Secretary Erin Mahoney. The Editorial Board members are Kathleen Gruber, Liam Kiely, Ricky Munoz, Erin Mahoney, Jesse Frye, Eugene Hlaing. Dr. Dawn Bowen (Professor of Geography) is the faculty mentor.
This is the first undergraduate academic journal in the history of UMW and has already been incredibly successful. This first issue of Columns appeared this fall, in both a physical print copy and an online version, published to the website (umwcolumns.com). The papers published in this issue were:
The Difficulties of Syrian Speculation; a Meta-Analysis of Water Scarcity and Climate-Based Theories of the Syrian Civil Conflict
By Liam Kiely
The Congressman from Santo Domingo: Grant, Sumner, Baez, and the Annexation of the Dominican Republic
By Ricky Munoz
Robert H. Jackson: How One Man’s Presence Affected the Nuremberg Trials
By Lauren Phillips
Proven Power and Divine Authority: Political and Religious Solar Iconography in the Roman Empire and Catholic Church
By Tabitha Robinson
Political Language’s Power Over Americans and the Environment
By Shadwick Yoder
The papers of this issue were also featured in the first Columns Student Research Symposium, held the last day of classes of the fall 2022 semester, where Ricky Munoz, Liam Kiely, Lauren Phillips, and Tabitha Robinson presented their research.
“We are incredibly proud of our accomplishments, especially considering the journal is entirely student-run. In the spring, there will be even more opportunities for students to become involved in the organization, as we are offering workshops for writers, opening more positions on the editorial board, and looking for students interested in graphic design and production. We would like to invite students of all social science and humanities disciplines to submit their original research or participate in Columns production this spring!” Kathleen Gruber, UMW Columns President
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