Re:Search
The Undergraduate Journal of Literary Criticism at Illinois Call for Proposals | 2019-2020
Re:Search, the Undergraduate Literary Criticism Journal at the University of Illinois, is seeking submissions for its sixth issue in Spring 2020!
Students currently enrolled as undergraduates at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign from any discipline or major are encouraged to submit to Re:Search, as long as the submissions are in accordance with our vision of the journal as an outlet for critical analysis. The most important criterion for acceptance is that the author proposes innovative critical analysis of a
text, film, television show, graphic novel, or other medium. In other words, we ask students to submit literary, media, or cultural criticism. We accept revisions of papers written previously for a class, current or completed honors theses, and even projects conceived outside of the classroom. We welcome an analysis of texts from any period or language, given that modern English translation is provided for any material quoted within the submission and the submission itself is composed in English.
Our audience includes university students, instructors, administration, alumni, and prospective students.
Please note that students whose proposal is accepted by the journal will be required to work with a faculty mentor to revise and develop their research throughout the remainder of the Fall and Spring semesters. We recommend that you contact a faculty member prior to submitting your proposal. You will be required to submit the names of faculty you plan to reach out to for mentorship in your proposal. Further instructions will be provided if the proposal is accepted. Also note, that once accepted, authors will be required to attend “office hours” with Re:Search staff to discuss the progress of their theses.
This journal is supported by the English Department and the Office of Undergraduate Research in collaboration with the University Library. If you are interested in submitting a work, it is imperative that you attend our first Information Session/ Proposal Workshop, which will be held on Friday, September 20th at 4:30 p.m. (location TBA). At the session, we will explain in adequate detail the
requirements for the proposal and you will have the opportunity to ask questions, as well as get feedback on your ideas.
The deadline to submit a proposal is 11:59 p.m. on Sunday, October 20th, 2019.
Relevant Links
If you wish to familiarize yourself with the content and/or quality of the articles accepted into Re:Search, previous journals are available to read at the following link.
If you wish to learn more about Re:Search before submitting, or wish to receive updates about our deadlines, find us at our microsite or Facebook page.
Online Journal Platform ugresearchjournals.illinois.edu/index.php/ujlc
Microsite publish.illinois.edu/undergradliterarycriticismjournal/ Facebook www.facebook.com/litcritjournaluiuc
Re:Search
The Undergraduate Journal of Literary Criticism at Illinois
Formatting Guidelines
All submissions must follow these formatting guidelines:
• 3-5 pages total (750-1,250 words), double-spaced
• 12-point Times New Roman font
• 1” margins
• Word format (.docx)
• Numbered pages (in footer)
• Remove any self-identifying references, such as your name, from the Word file before submitting to ensure anonymity in the review process.
Submission Guidelines
The proposal will consist of three parts. Please include the tentative title of work, the name of your potential faculty mentor and the following:
Part I (required) | Prospectus: Explaining Your Project
▪▪ Write a proposal that meets the following requirements: identifies a specific research question, explains why this question is
worth studying, and identifies the texts (primary, critical, etc.) you will use.
▪▪ Devote this section to identifying the questions your project seeks to address, and demonstrate how the selected texts engage
with those questions. Better proposals explain the stakes of your argument and research.
▪▪ See our Aims & Scope for an overview of the journal’s intellectual mission statement. Also view the Peer Review Rubric
below for the criteria that our student reviewers consider during the Peer Review process. Additionally, we recommend reading
the articles published in previous years to gain an idea of the scope of the projects.
▪▪ Your prospectus should be a polished example of your writing. Proofread for spelling
and grammar.
Part II (optional) | Excerpt from Previously Written Paper
▪▪ If your proposal is based on a completed paper from a previous course, you are welcome to include an excerpt that highlights
a crucial interpretive framework of your paper or emphasizes a valuable observation on a selected text.
▪▪ This section is optional. If you choose to include an excerpt, keep in mind that the
proposal submission must remain within the 3-5 pages requirement.
o Part III (required) | Bibliography
▪▪ Include a bibliography of texts relevant to your project. There should be a minimum of 1 primary source, a minimum of 2 secondary sources, and a maximum of 5 sources total. Annotations are not required.
Re:Search
The Undergraduate Journal of Literary Criticism at Illinois
Relevant Documents
I. Aims & Scope
Re:Search: The Undergraduate Literary Criticism Journal at Illinois is an undergraduate produced, peer-reviewed open-access online journal designed to annually publish works exclusively by undergraduate students. It seeks to create a place for undergraduate students to showcase and publish literary criticism within a greater academic discourse while nurturing a
collaborative community between faculty, administration, and undergraduate students. Students from any discipline may submit to Re:Search as long as the submissions are in accordance with our vision of the journal as a site of critical analysis.
We encourage undergraduate students to submit literary, media, or cultural criticism. We accept revisions of papers written previously for a class, current or completed honors theses, and even projects conceived outside the classroom. The most important criterion for acceptance is that the author offers fresh, new critical analysis of a text, film or other work. We welcome
an analysis of texts from any period or language, given that modern English translation is provided for any material quoted within the submission. Although theory is not the journal’s primary topic, we encourage submissions that refer to, reflect on, and engage with theory to provide richer and more nuanced analyses. Our audience includes university students, instructors, administration, alumni, and prospective students. Visit our website to view our complete Aims & Scope.
II. Peer Review Rubric
1.
Quality of the project’s conception – Is a central question stated clearly and interestingly? Are terms well defined, the critical context grasped, and the larger stake of the argument articulated?
2.
Originality of the project – How does this project advance critical conversations? What distinguishes this project from other work on these texts or in this theoretical area? Does it attempt to advance critical conversations? Does it shed new light on the text?
3.
Scope of the project – Is the project do-able in the time available, at the length proposed, and with the resources stated? If not, could it be re-scaled, or resources added?
4.
Impact of the project – Is the question framed for specialists in a certain author, or does it engage issues that might interest readers of literature more generally?
III. Bibliography
Format | The bibliography should follow the works cited format in the MLA format (8th edition). Consult Purdue OWL for examples.
We are looking for a maximum of 5 items on your bibliography, with a minimum of 2 secondary sources and 1 primary source. These items should come from scholarly sources, including but not limited to academic, peer- reviewed journals and books from
university presses. Generally, we advise avoiding dissertations and editorial/opinion articles unless they are relevant to your analysis. This bibliography will serve as a sample of your ongoing research.
Submission Process
The deadline to submit a proposal is 11:59 p.m. on Sunday, November 4th, 2018.
• You will register as an Author and submit your proposal to the online journal. We will host an information session on September 26th to go over the online journal system. If you are unable to make this session, please contact an executive board member for instructions and/or assistance. There will be another workshop session on Wednesday, October 17th at 5:30 p.m. as well.
• Students will be notified via email if their work is accepted after Thanksgiving Break.
For more information about Re:Search or the submission process, please contact
uiuclitjournal@gmail.com.