Undercurrent: The Canadian Undergraduate Journal of Development Studies
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Undercurrent: The Canadian Journal of Undergraduate Studies is an academic journal devoted to the publication of excellent undergraduate scholarship. Undercurrent is the only student-run Canadian national undergraduate journal publishing scholarly essays and articles that explore the subject of international development. The journal is a refereed publication dedicated to providing a non-partisan, supportive, yet critical and competitive forum exclusively for undergraduate research, writing, and editing. It publishes two issues a year, once in the fall and again in the spring. Its articles explore aspects of international development related to political science, economics, history, cultural studies and other areas that fall within the humanities and social sciences.
[edit] Mandate
Undercurrent endeavours to raise the profile of undergraduate international development studies (IDS); to establish a venue in which young scholars may undergo constructive review and have work published; to provide the best examples of work currently being done in undergraduate IDS programmes in Canada; to stimulate creative scholarship, dialogue and debate about the theory and practice of development; to provide a learning opportunity for contributors, staff and readers; and to offer one means by which students may more meaningfully participate in broader exchanges within their chosen field of study. Besides articles and essays, the journal contains editorials, book reviews, and commentary, as contributions merit, investigating aspects of development both at home and abroad.
While individual authors may present distinct, critical viewpoints, Undercurrent does not harbour any clear ideological commitments. Instead, the journal aims to evince the broad range of applications for development theory and methodology, and to promote interdisciplinary discourse, by publishing an array of articulate, well-researched pieces.
Undercurrent sees itself as an aide in the pursuit of academic knowledge and research, both for undergraduates and the larger academic community. It is an open access journal – freely available and distributable – in an effort to promote open research and stronger cooperation within academia, international development agencies, and those simply interested in the field.
[edit] Inception
Undercurrent grew out of the inaugural Canadian national students’ conference in International Development Studies: 'InSight' [1], held in the spring of 2004 in Winnipeg, Manitoba (and made possible by funding from the International Development Research Centre [2] and the Canadian Association for the Study of International Development [3]).
