LOUISVILLE, Ky. (SBTS) — The Augustine Honors Collegium at Boyce College will publish the inaugural issue of an undergraduate research journal in June 2017 and is seeking submissions from college students, school leaders announced Nov. 1.
“The Augustine Honors Collegium represents one of the most exciting and significant developments in recent months at Boyce College,” said Matthew J. Hall, dean of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary’s undergraduate school. “Under Dr. Jonathan Arnold’s leadership, I believe the collegium provides an opportunity for students and faculty to dig in deeper into the history of ideas and the contours of a thick biblical worldview in a way that will have a lasting impact on their lives and vocations.”
The Augustine Collegiate Review is designed to present interdisciplinary conversations across broad theological, cultural, and philosophical topics from a Christian perspective and promote undergraduate research and writing. The journal will be published twice a year, and each issue will feature approximately six undergraduate student-written pieces from within and outside of Boyce College, articles requested from active scholars, and a variety of book reviews from both students and scholars.
“It’s one thing to think clearly. It’s another thing entirely to develop the skill to transfer thoughts to a coherent paragraph,” Hall said. “The Augustine Collegiate Review takes the best of the old — peer-reviewed scholarly publishing — and fuses it with the best of the new — digital publishing — providing students with an opportunity to be directly engaged with some of the most pressing questions and issues of our day. This resource will not only benefit students, but the entire Boyce College community and beyond.”
A selective academic program launched in August, the Augustine Honors Collegium encourages the development of academic writing, research, and communication skills through an enhanced curriculum. Program leaders say it also fosters a community for students who desire to challenge themselves beyond undergraduate requirements and provides rare opportunities for engaging the church and the world outside the confines of a classroom. All participants who graduate from The Augustine Honors Collegium will complete a research thesis which will be presented to the academic community before graduation.
“The Augustine Honors Collegium is designed to challenge students to think more deeply about the biggest questions facing Christians and to engage the rest of the world, including the broader academy, in those conversations. This type of education requires not only the ability to think critically but also the ability to communicate effectively,” said Jonathan Arnold, director of the Augustine Honors Collegium and a two-time graduate of Oxford University. “This exciting new endeavor, the Augustine Collegiate Review, promises to provide students an opportunity to hold those conversations in a public setting while also allowing for undergraduates from other institutions to join in these conversations and to benefit from the time-honored, peer-review publishing process.”
Call for papers
The Augustine Honors Collegium invites students to submit a paper for publishing in the inaugural issue of the Augustine Collegiate Review: An Undergraduate Research Journal. Papers should be written by undergraduate students only, 4,000 words in length, and related to the issue’s theme: metaphysics and ontology considered from a broadly Christian perspective. All submitted papers will be subject to a double-blind review process. To be considered, students must email their submissions to Arnold, who is the journal’s general editor, no later than Friday, March 31, 2017. No submissions will be considered after this date. Students must include the following information about their paper: educational credentials, a letter of endorsement from a faculty member at their university, paper title, and a short summary of the proposed paper explaining its focus and argument. All papers should adhere to journal guidelines that can be accessed at boycecollege.com/the-augustine-honors-collegium/.