New Undergraduate Journal Launches
Students share written works from Dietrich College General Education courses
By Stefanie Johndrow
The first edition of WOVEN, a new academic, interdisciplinary journal featuring nine pieces written by undergraduate students, published on Monday, Oct. 24.
WOVEN features writings from Dietrich College of Humanities and Social Sciences General Education courses that represent many genres to “showcase excellence in communication.” The journal is released twice yearly: once in the fall and spring semesters. It is a collaboration between the Dietrich College General Education and Department of English Writing & Communication programs. WOVEN is co-edited by Courtney L. Novosat and Alan Thomas Kohler from the Department of English.
“We are excited for this first issue, which features a variety of assignments from all different courses spanning many departments in both the humanities and the social sciences. This journal offers a glimpse into what our General Education Program aims to teach students about communication across the curriculum,” said Colleen Libertz, the senior academic program manager of the Dietrich College General Education Program.
"Taken as a whole, the works in the coming issue not only highlight the exemplary projects produced in Dietrich College’s General Education Program, but also CMU students’ genuine concern for issues of diversity, equity and inclusion on a global scale,” Novosat said. “I am deeply proud of our students and of my role in helping them to shape and refine these important works for publication."
The General Education curriculum requires foundations courses that teach students 21st century skills and knowledge, disciplinary perspectives courses that provide breadth and a reflective understanding of the academic landscape, and special seminars that offer transformative and integrative learning.
One of the pieces featured in WOVEN includes an essay by sophomore Rita Paixão. As part of her First-Year Writing class, “Writing about Literature, Art and Culture,” Paixão examined Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi’s “Let’s Tell This Story Properly: Nudity as a Form of Liberation.”
Another student submission came from Camille Chandler, a sophomore in Dietrich College’s Departments of Psychology and Social and Decision Sciences. Camille’s piece was created during her Grand Challenge Seminar class, “We're Not Beyond Race: Race and Identity in America.”