‘Discourse’ is something to talk about

Ever thought about being published? Probably too hard, right?

Wrong. With “Discourse,” SMU students have an opportunity to become published authors without a lot of extra work.

Two years ago, an online journal was founded in an effort to bolster the intellectual community here on campus. The journal’s intent was to take advantage of SMU’s diverse academic programs by featuring excellent undergraduate papers in an online forum.

In order to do this, we need submissions. There is only one real requirement – the paper must have been written while you were an undergraduate at SMU.

What does this mean? Pull out old papers. Talk to your professor about something you wrote for his class. There must be something you’ve done that’s worth a look.

What the editorial board of “Discourse” looks for are non-fiction, well-argued thesis-driven papers; the subject matter, by the very nature of the journal, can be drawn from any academic discipline.

“Discourse” wants work drawn from all four undergraduate schools at SMU. That means you, mechanical engineering majors, just as much as it means you, philosophy majors.

Papers must have the proper scope; that is to say, papers must be interesting and pertinent for a general audience. Papers that excellently fulfill a very specific assignment may not necessarily be the best for submission.

Submission couldn’t be easier. First step, send the submission to me via email at [email protected]. We will be in contact from there.

Don’t worry. Submissions are considered by the editorial board under complete anonymity – what do you have to lose?

The deadline for submissions is Friday, March 21. Published authors will be recognized at Honors Convocation.

As an online journal, “Discourse” gives you the opportunity to have your work read by anyone on the Web.

This is a perfect opportunity for those out there trying to get an edge in postgraduate life. “Published author” by your name is not a bad tag to have.