DEconstruction Demystified
On college campuses, fiery intellectual debate is expected and encouraged. Such a
large group of students from so radically different backgrounds makes for an
amalgamation of views, opinions, and voices. Allegiances form and heads butt on
all sorts of issues. Even if a student has something valuable to say, however, it can
be intimidating to make one’s voice heard—or even find a suitable medium. And
what good are opinions without somewhere to voice them? For students at the
University of Delaware, student-produced magazine DEconstruction fits the bill.
Originally published in 2002, DEconstruction has evolved from a literary
analysis periodical into a collection of reader-contributed opinion. In its early
issues, the DEconstruction team analyzed works of literature and quite literally
deconstructed them. Gradually, the magazine’s focus shifted to more of a public
pulse piece, offering a unified setting for the presentation of opinion. Of the
magazine now, co-editor in chief Jessica McKnight says, “Our goal is to create an
open forum for students on campus. People often think that only art majors can
draw, only English majors can write, or only graphic designers can use
complicated publishing software.” DEconstruction proves this is not the case.
Contributors to DEconstruction come from a wide range of disciplines, and they
are able to enjoy the freedom allotted by the forum DEconstruction provides.
Because of its variety of contributors, DEconstruction covers a broad
spectrum of topics from issue to issue. Contributors come from virtually any
discipline, and this open contribution makes DEconstruction’s topics an
unadulterated grab bag of whatever is on the minds of the public. Past issues
have touched on matters such as campus living, international studies, and
fashion but also on more controversial topics ranging from politics to nude
modeling to sweatshop labor. As ever, controversial topics, while challenging, are
popular content. Students embrace the relatively free rein they are given within
the pages of DEconstruction. “Most of the time these articles have generated
positive feedback because students like to hear about things that no one else will
talk about,” explains McKnight. “As long as the stories are not too offensive, then
they will most likely be published.”
DEconstruction is managed entirely by University of Delaware students.
An extensive staff of student writers, editors, artists, and designers organize and
oversee the publication of the periodical. Contributors are similarly diverse. “We
welcome students from all majors to come help out in the writing process, the
editing process, and/or the layout process,” McKnight says. Weekly meetings and
collaborative wiki tools help organize the ambitious publication.
Published quarterly, the magazine is distributed locally to both the
University of Delaware and the Newark community at large. “We usually
distribute about 1200 issues for the first magazine of the semester and a little less
for the second,” attests McKnight. “I think that our magazine is relevant to many
different people: faculty, community members, and students alike.” Interested
readers or future contributors can visit the publication’s webpage for more
information, including submission guidelines, past issues, and contact
information.
DEconstruction on the web:
http://udel.edu/stu-org/DeconMag/index.html