Undergraduate Philosophy Journals
A Philosophy and Religion 300 Resource
November 2, 2009
Best Practices
 Agora , Texas A & M University
OUR MISSION:
Agora aims to provide undergraduate researchers with the
opportunity to publish their work and experience the
valuable process of constructive review. Students are also
given the chance to work for an online journal by
participating in editorial decisions. These goals aid the
general progress of undergraduate research by spotlighting
the fact that post-graduate study is not the only venue for
important inquiries in the humanities. Our mission is to
make the journal consistently meet high standards of creative
scholarship.
http://glasscock.tamu.edu/agora/index.html
Name and identity are normative.
 We hope it will be a
 In Ancient Greece,
philosophers gathered in the
agora (or, marketplace) to
exchange ideas and engage in
debates. Agora, the online
undergraduate journal of
humanities at Texas A&M
University, also provides a
forum for the lively
discussion of scholarly topics.
marketplace of ideas worth
coming to again and again.
The picture located in the
top corner of each page is a
cutting from Rembrandt's
painting, "The Scholar,"
signifying our interest in
cultivating a new
generation of scholars in
the humanities.
Roles at Agora
 STAFF OPENINGS:
Gain valuable career experience by working for a refereed,
online journal. Agora is currently accepting applications for
the following volunteer positions:
 Public Relations Managers. Job description: Write press releases
and manage inquiries from media representatives. Create and
distribute flyers advertising calls for papers or volunteers.
 Copy Editors. Job description: Edit, proofread and format
submitted papers to be sent to referee panels. Proofread
accepted papers for final publication.
Call for Papers
 SUBMISSION
GUIDELINES:
 The deadline for submissions
for the winter issue of Agora
is October 23, 2004.
 Papers and reviews should
be sent as an e-mail
attachment to the editor-inchief at
JenniferSiepel@tamu.edu.
Documents should be saved
as text files or as Microsoft
Word documents. Carefully
read the format guidelines
below before submitting.
Failure to adhere to
these guidelines could
result in rejection.

FORMAT GUIDELINES:
Length. Papers must be between 4,000 and 8,000 words of text,
excluding footnotes. Book reviews should be limited to 2,000 words of
text.
Footnotes and Citations. Citations must be submitted as footnotes.
Please do not use parenthetical in-text citations. For the first
reference to a work, include the full bibliographic citation in the
footnote (author(s), title, place of publication, publishing company,
copyright date). Footnotes referring to works cited in the immediately
previous note should cite "Ibid." and the page number. Footnotes
referring to works cited in previous notes should include the author's
name, followed by "op. cit." and the page number. (Please note that
book reviews may parenthetically cite page numbers from the book
being reviewed.) Please consult the reference style in the current issue
or contact us with further questions. Following these guidelines greatly
increases a paper's chances of being reviewed.
Spacing and Alignment. Papers should be double-spaced and justified.
Please type only one space after each mark of punctuation, rather than
two.
Book reviews. Book reviews must be accompanied by a full bibliographic
citation of the book being reviewed, including the author/editor, title,
publication information, copyright date, number of pages,
paperback/hardback edition, and listed retail price.
Style. Authors are encouraged to follow a standard research style book,
such as the MLA Style Manual and Guide to Scholarly Publishing or The
Chicago Manual of Style.
Refereed:
 Submissions to Agora are reviewed by two referees at Texas
A&M University. The journal is currently looking for faculty
members and senior graduate students who would be willing
to review a paper. Interested parties should contact the
editor-in-chief.
Volumes are unthemed:
 VOLUME 4, ISSUE 1 (Summer 2003)
 VOLUME 1, ISSUE 2 (Winter 2000)
 Volga Ethnic Relations from Ibn
 Carpetbagger on the Brazos: The
Fadlan's Perspective
Melanie Clouser
PDF
 Nietzsche's Thus Spoke
Zarathustra
Reena Goyal
University of Toronto
PDF
 The Compatibility of Divine
Foreknowledge and
Predestination with Human
Freedom in Medieval Philosophy
Joel M. Buenting
University of Victoria
PDF
Texas Freedmen's Bureau in
Robertson County
Andrew J. Torget
Texas A&M University
PDF
 Identity in Language: An
Exploration into the Social
Implications of Linguistic
Variation
Polly Sterling
Texas A&M University
PDF
 Feminine Identity in Sophocles'
Antigone
Laura Bradshaw Droege
University of Alabama-Huntsville
PDF
The Carleton University
Student Journal of Philosophy
 Call for Papers
 The Carleton University Student Journal of
Philosophy publishes student papers on
all topics of philosophical interest. It is
designed to offer students their first
opportunity to publish philosophical
work, and to encourage excellence in
student scholarship. Submissions are
welcome from both undergraduate and
graduate students. Faculty members are
urged to encourage students to submit
papers. Acceptance is determined by
the editor(s), based mainly on the
recommendation of faculty referees
from Carleton University.
Vol. 17, No. 2, Summer 1998
Edited by Michael Kocsis,
AndreaCasciato and Mark Foster
Table of Contents:
 War in the Fields of Experience:
Making Sense of Religious
Empiricism
Kenny Kistler, William Paterson
University of New Jersey
 Sartre vs. Nietzsche: Will To Power,
Platonism, and Pessimism
Craig Beam, University of Waterloo
 The Impact of the Computer Model
of the Mind on Cognitive Science
Jerzy Jarmasz, Carleton University
http://www.carleton.ca/philosophy/cusjp/callforpapers.html
Yale Philosophy Review
TheYale Philosophy Review is an annual journal that showcases
the best and most original of philosophic thought by
undergraduate students, worldwide. The goal of the
Review is to promote philosophic discourse of the highest
standard, and to bring together a community of young
philosophers in both the United States and abroad. Each issue
contains a selection of essays on a broad range of philosophic
topics, as well as book reviews and interviews of philosophic
content.
http://www.yale.edu/ypr/index.htm
The Yale
PHILOSOPHY
REVIEW
submission guidelines
Book Review and Interview Submission. If
you are interested in writing a book review or an
interview for The Yale Philosophy Review, please email
the editors with a proposed book (published within the
last twelve months) or interviewee. Final publication of
book reviews and interviews is at the discretion of the
Editors.
Essay Submission. Papers should be 10-20 doublespaced pages in MLA format. Papers must be the
original work of the author, with all sources and
references properly cited.
While we do not take previously published papers, we
do accept simultaneous submissions, with the
expectation that we will be informed immediately if the
paper is being published elsewhere.
Please include a cover page with the following
information: Name, University or College, Major or
Degree, Year of expected graduation, Email, Phone
number, and Address. Do not include any
personal information on the paper itself.
Please include a short (500 word max.) abstract at the
beginning of your paper.
Deadline Information. All submissions for the
2009 issue must be received via e-mail by February
14, 2009.
An Undergraduate Publication
ISSUE 4 | 2008
The Surprise Examination Paradox: a Rejection of Quine, and Alternate
Solutions
MATTHEW J. KNAUFF, Princeton University
Contemporary Moral Theory, Personal Commitments, and the Importance of
Institutions
GRAHAM RHYS GRIFFITHS, University ofWashington
Cognitive Impressions
ANDREW WONG, Washington University in St. Louis
Obligation, Rationality, and Right in Fichte’s Grundlag e de s Natur r e cht s
MATTHEW SEAN PINES, Johns Hopkins University
Problems with Gauker's Conditional Semantics
MARK ALAN WILSON, University of Nevada, LasVegas
Interview with Stephen Darwall,
University of Michigan
MATTHEW NOAH SMITH, Yale University
Interview with Nathan Salmon,
University of California, Santa Barbara
LESLIE F. WOLF, Yale University
ERGON THE STUDENT JOURNAL OF PHILOSOPHY
AT THE UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA
About: Ergon is an online journal of philosophy at the University
of South Carolina, organized and administered by USC philosophy
graduate students. Ergon accepts submissions from both
undergraduate and graduate students. Ergon (ergon, "work" or
"action") is committed to providing a forum for student work in
all areas of philosophy.
Issues:
Issue 1 (Fall 2003)
Issue 2 (Fall 2004)
http://www.cas.sc.edu/phil/ergon/index.html
The Issues
 ERGON ISSUE 1
FALL 2003
Global Ethics: Sense or Nonsense?
Jennifer Eustis (Dominican College,
Ontario)
"Who are You?" Action, Natality, and
Identity in Hannah Arendt's The Human
Condition
Lani Mae Z. Junio (University of
Navarre, Spain)
Approaching Nietzsche in the 21st
Century
Nikola Ristic (University of South
Carolina)
 ERGON ISSUE 2
FALL 2004
The Limits of Toleration: Applying
Rawls's Public Reason to Multicultural
Rights
Justin Cox
Is Moore's Criticism of Idealism
Uncharitable?
Brett Gaul
The Meaning of Plato's Ion
Benjamin Gorman
Conflict, Recognition, and the
Development of Ethical Life in Hegel's
Phenomenology of Spirit
Eppo Maertens
Analysis
Challenges
1.
2.
3.
4.
Most of the undergraduate
journals begun in the late
1990’s or after 2000 no
longer operate.
There are very few
undergraduate journals in
general.
Ongoing journals appear to
have major funding and other
resources.
Graduate students and faculty
act as editors, referees and
business liaisons.
Criticisms and Responses
 Unreasonable criteria for
publication may bear responsibility.
 Editing and publishing professional
quality journals are labor intensive
tasks. An editorial team, rather
than a single individual is a better
management strategy.
 Server space and editing tools have
been requested. Additionally, the
UNCW Department of Philosophy
and Religion agrees to host a venue
for student work.
 Editing and refereeing is good
experience for undergraduates too.
Models to consider:
Call for Papers:
Names:
 Papers in any philosophical
 “Aunt Mary’s Kitchen Table
or other humanities topic
with philosophical
elements will be
considered.
 Word length = 3,000 –
4,000/page length = 1020 typewritten doublespaced pages





Talks”
“Logomania”
“The Phronesist”
“Psyche”
“Sophrosyne”
See
http://www.class.uidaho.edu
/ngier/309/greekterms.htm
Logistics
Copy editors
Editor in Chief
 Every student in our
 Dr. T
course copy edits two
papers.
Logistics, continued: Referee Process
 Refereeing is not blind, but
submitted drafts will not
include names. The Editor
will assign numbers that will
be confidential and known
only to authors.
 3-4 students referee each
submission. Editor assigns
referees; names of referees
are confidential. Each referee
has a number of his or her
own.
 Each student referees 3-4
submissions.
 Referees mark papers and
supply typewritten comments
to the Editor. Editor shares
comments with authors.
 All referees respond to a
common set of questions, to
be determined by the class as
a whole in consultation with
the Editor.
 Referees submit reviews in a
timely manner.
Publication Notes
 Journal will be published online
with papers in pdf.
 Journal Logo, graphics, and
other embellishments may be
chosen by a committee of
students, or, by the class as a
whole.
 Students with web writing
talent are invited to participate
in the technical publishing
process.
 A common format to all papers
is desirable.
 Links in Bibliography but not
otherwise permitted
 Graphics and other audio-visual
additions will be possible, but
since space, formatting or
copyright may become issues, a
student committee will
determine how non-normal
cases should be handled.
 “Normal” = patently reasonable
size and content; relevant
content; stable format
Notes, cont’d.
 Bibliography and notes self-contained in each paper (not in
endnotes for the entire volume)
 Introduction to volume?
Submission Dates to Consider
 Final draft to Editor: November 9, 16, 23, 30?
 Editor to Referees: November ?
 Referees to Editor: November ?
 Editor to copy-editors: November ?
 Copy-editors to Editor: November ?
 Editor to authors: November?
 Authors to Editor: November?
 Publication Event: December 7, 2009