Northwestern’s student publications reflect the diversity of interests of the students who produce them. One was recently created with the goal of linking these interests together.
The magazine, tentatively named Quire, will feature submissions from a variety of majors with a focus on the humanities, said founder Grant Kettering, a Weinberg senior.
“It’s a hybrid enterprise,” Kettering said. “I have a broad range of academic interests, and I wanted to set up a community where you could be brought into contact with people from other majors.”
The journal focuses on NU students, as opposed to other college campus journals, said Tony Mills, editor in chief of the journal.
“The primary reason that I think it’s interesting was that it’s kind of a unique opportunity to have undergraduates come together to talk about intellectual things,” the Weinberg senior said. “There are really no outlets for this on campus.”
The journal’s uniqueness lies in the fact that it is interdisciplinary, and it leans more toward intellectualism than other publications, Kettering said. It will be more philosophical and analytical than typical literary journals.
“It’s not a traditional undergraduate journal,” Kettering said. “We are trying to go out and find the contributions ourselves.”
The sponsorship is primarily from the philosophy department, but the journal’s founders are also looking for sponsorship from programs such as the Alice Kaplan Institute for the Humanities, they said.
The magazine will be distributed quarterly and will feature eight to 12 essays per issue, Kettering said.
The magazine will also accept other, more creative submissions such as photography, artwork, poetry and fiction.
“Each issue (of the journal) will reflect a different issue from new perspectives,” said Diana Nielsen, a Weinberg junior who is involved with the management of the magazine.
The first issue, which will most likely be released in May, will focus on the economic crisis, Nielsen said.
Journal staff members said they will try to get submissions from a variety of majors in order to include a wide range of perspectives.
“One of the primary purposes of the journal is to foster intellectual discourse,” Mills said.
In addition to submissions, Nielsen said she is also hoping to include other features, such as a calendar of events or course descriptions for certain majors.
“Each department has their own society,” Kettering said. “I want to create a master supersociety that could bridge the gap between majors.”
