Archives
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Aletheia: The Arts and Science Academic Journal
Vol. 3 No. 1 (2023)Welcome to the fifth edition of Aletheia— a student-led, peer-reviewed journal showcasing written works from students in McMaster’s Arts & Science program. The last year has certainly been busy with the resumption of in-person activities at the university, and as such we have decided to publish a singular edition for the 2022-23 academic year that encompasses papers written in Arts & Science courses over the past year. We are excited to share this diverse array of papers that have been reviewed carefully this semester by our team of peer reviewers.
The theme for this edition of the journal is “power and resistance”. Within this theme, the papers featured in this issue explore the concepts of activism, political theory/philosophy, and health systems. The journal features papers from a variety of introductory and upper-year Arts & Science courses.
Oishee: As I conclude my third and final year with Aletheia, it has been a wonderful experience contributing to the growth of the journal since its inception in 2020. I am grateful to have had the opportunity to read all the submissions and I extend my heartfelt appreciation to the authors, staff team, and fellow editorial board members for making this year a great success!
Gabrielle: It has been such a pleasure to be a part of the editorial team this year. I would like to thank our wonderful peer reviewers for their hard work throughout the reivew process and their thoughful and thorough revisions, and our authors for their incredibly insightful papers. Finally, I would like to say a huge thank you to my fellow editorial board members – it has been wonderful to work alongside you throughout the year.
Sanjana: I have had so much fun reading Artsci papers and working with the peer editors and the editorial board. I’m excited for another year of Aletheia!
We are so grateful for the creativity and dedication of our graphic designer Bohmee Kim in putting this publication together.
Next year, the journal will continue under the guidance of Sanjana Shah, the incoming editor-in-chief. We are very excited to witness the evolution and continuation of Aletheia for years to come. We highly encourage students who are interested in getting involved to apply for a review position next fall, or to submit your work in the 2023/2024 school year.
Thank you for taking the time to check out the journal. We hope you enjoy it!
The Aletheia Team
Editors-in-chief: Oishee Ghosh and Gabrielle Maerov
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Aletheia: The Arts and Science Academic Journal
Vol. 2 No. 2 (2022)Welcome to the fourth edition of Aletheia— a student-led, peer-reviewed journal showcasing written works from students in McMaster’s Arts & Science program. In this edition, we are excited to share a diverse array of papers written in Arts & Science courses from the Fall 2021 term, reviewed carefully this semester by our team of Peer Reviewers.
The theme for this edition of the journal is “identity”. This theme is central to our society, permeating our view of ourselves, others, and our communities. In this edition, with the theme of Identity, we are looking for papers that address the complexities that arise between how one identifies or is identified, and how they then are situated within society. These papers may explore the components that make up an individual, how people choose to identify themselves, or what level of autonomy one has in defining the self. The journal encompasses papers from Literature, Global Challenges and Diversity and Human Rights.
Zahra: It has been a pleasure working on Aletheia for the past two years and I am grateful that I have been able to watch it grow from an idea of two optimistic third years, and two keen first years into a fruitful showcase of Artsci talent. Thank you to all the reviewers and authors this year that made this another successful year for Aletheia!
Vanessa: I have been honoured to have the opportunity to be part of this editorial board this past year. It has been a wonderful journey to see how Aletheia has grown and changed, amidst a very chaotic two years. Thank you to all the authors who submitted a piece for the journal. From first year to fifth year, we have received a wide range of amazing submissions that reflect the ingenuity of the Arts & Science community. A huge thank you to our peer reviewers who have dedicated their time and efforts to maximizing the potential of this peer-reviewed journal. Thank you to Bohmee, who has once again blown us away with her creativity and talents. Finally, thank you to Zahra, Micah, and Oishee, for being a fantastic team to work with over these past few months.
Micah: I am excited to see the excellence of Arts and Science students showcased yet again in another edition of our wonderful journal. It has been an honour to serve as co-Editor-In-Chief this past year, and I am excited to see where it is taken in the years to come. A huge thank you to the peer reviewers who dedicated many hours during busy semesters to help our authors to publish their best possible work. A huge thank you also to the rest of the Aletheia team who have each been wonderful to work with and incredibly dedicated to Aletheia. To all of the readers, I hope that you enjoy this edition of Aletheia. We have some interesting perspectives and pieces of work at an impressive level of depth and analysis in the many different areas of study that Arts and Science students pursue. Your journey through the journal will not disappoint.
Oishee: A huge thank you to everyone working on the staff and editorial team of Aletheia, as well as the authors and readers for making this journal so wonderful! Witnessing the growth of this journal over the past two years has been a meaningful experience, and I hope you enjoy reading this edition as much as I have.
To the authors involved in this edition, thank you for your openness to feedback and patience throughout the review process. To the Peer Reviewers, thank you for taking the time to provide such thorough and thoughtful revisions during the busiest times of the school year. And we remain so grateful for the creativity and dedication of our graphics team in putting this publication together.
Thank you for taking the time to check out the journal. We hope you enjoy it!
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Aletheia: The Arts and Science Academic Journal
Vol. 2 No. 1 (2022)Welcome to the third edition of Aletheia— a student-led, peer-reviewed journal showcasing written works from students enrolled in the Arts & Science program at McMaster University. In this edition, we are excited to share a diverse array of papers written in Arts and Science courses from the Winter 2021 term, which were reviewed carefully this semester by our team of Peer Reviewers.
The theme for this edition of the journal is ‘Renaissance.’ Our intention for this theme is to focus on the concept of rebirth. In the Arts & Science program, we are encouraged to persevere and adapt when met with adverse conditions. This edition starts off with an honourary submission from long-time Arts & Science professor for the Social and Political Thought course, Dr. David L. Clark, speaking on the idea of growth beyond conventional education. Works featured in this journal touch on the strength of humanity amidst a pandemic, battling a split identity and technological innovation.
We are thankful for the support we have received from the Arts & Science program as we embark on our second year of publication. While this semester has been unique in its hybrid manner, we are amazed by the continual support of the Arts & Science community through contributions as well as suggestions received to improve this semester’s edition.
Below, please see messages from each member of our Editorial Board,
Oishee: Seeing this publication grow and evolve since Fall 2020 has been a wonderful experience, and I enjoyed assisting with the journal management/editorial process as well as updating our information on the Aletheia website. I’m grateful to be a part of such a hardworking team, and everyone involved played such an important role in creating yet another successful edition. There are some incredible articles in this edition, and I hope you enjoy reading them as much as I have!
Micah: Everyone involved in the creation and production of Aletheia, whether they are authors, peer reviewers, or editors should feel proud of this issue that we have put together and at the ongoing success of the journal as a whole. The students of Arts & Science produce incredible and insightful work, and it is my honour to help enable such work to be showcased in the journal. From the social implications of the COVID-19 pandemic to the idea of personal and group identity, this edition of the journal contains many unique, creative, and engaging pieces on renaissance in today’s world. I hope that you enjoy your experience exploring this edition and, most of all, I hope that it allows you the opportunity to learn!
Zahra: As we come to a full year of Aletheia, I am astounded by the growth of both the journal and the team. Transitioning from an Editor-in-training last year to an Editor in Chief this year has allowed me to appreciate the work that each member of this team has put into this edition of the journal. I am thrilled to share with you some of the amazing articles Arts & Science students and professors have written, and I hope they inspire you as much as they inspired me!
Vanessa: It has been a privilege to take part in the production of this edition, an edition that has brought out so many unique and insightful perspectives. I am glad to have had the opportunity to work alongside our team of hard-working and conscientious peer reviewers, as well as our many skillful and talented authors. Thank you to everyone who helped make this journal a reality, and I hope that you all enjoy it!
Thank you for taking the time to read Aletheia. We hope that you enjoy going through it as much as we enjoyed putting it together.
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Aletheia: The Arts and Science Journal
Vol. 1 No. 2 (2021)Welcome to the second edition of Aletheia-- a student-led, peer-reviewed journal showcasing written works from students in McMaster’s Arts & Science program. In this edition, we are excited to share a diverse array of papers written in Arts & Science courses from the Fall 2020 term, which were reviewed carefully this semester by our team of Peer Reviewers.
The theme for this edition of the journal is ‘Justice and Democracy.’ In the Arts & Science program, we are encouraged to critically engage with current world issues by analyzing injustices, unpacking ‘democracy’ in theory and practice, and discussing opportunities for change. Works featured in this journal touch on discrimination in the healthcare system, the danger of nationalist ideologies, as well as the legacies of colonization -- specifically, land dispossession, education issues, oppressive legal systems, and food insecurity. The journal concludes with three essays that take a creative analytical approach to examine themes of justice and democracy using texts from ‘Literature’-- a third-year Arts & Science course taught by director Dr. Jean Wilson.
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Aletheia: The Arts and Science Academic Journal
Vol. 1 No. 1 (2021)Welcome to the inaugural edition of the Arts & Science Journal: Aletheia. This is the first-ever peer-reviewed journal that compiles works from students in the Arts & Science program at McMaster University. In this journal, we invite you to enjoy some of the innovative and high-quality work produced by students in a range of Arts & Science courses from the 2019-2020 academic year.
The inspiration to start this journal came during a difficult summer of COVID-19, in which the two of us were feeling disconnected from the Arts & Science community and were looking ahead to a school year of remote learning. After three years in Arts & Science, reading our peers’ impressive works, we believed that the program was missing a platform to showcase papers from its students. As both of us had experienced, submitting one’s paper to an external journal is an intimidating and often complicated process. As we entered our final year in the program, we hoped to create a way to bring together Arts & Science
work, while also fostering inter-year collaboration in the remote-learning school year.
With the help of our two ‘Editors-in-training’, who shared our vision for the journal, we brought together our amazing Staff team: 10 Peer Reviewers who provided detailed feedback and commentary on authors’ submissions, and two Graphics Designers who created the journal’s website and artwork. We then called for submissions for papers relating to our theme of Resilience and were excited by the diversity of courses and topics reflected in the papers we received. The peer-review process is an arduous one, but we were incredibly impressed by the dedication and eye for detail of our Peer Reviewers as they immersed themselves in the papers, and of the Authors in incorporating all the feedback and edits they received. More information on the peer review process can be found on our website. Although perhaps a little dense for a casual read, we envision that this publication, and subsequent editions, will serve to not only inform readers about important issues, but also provide examples of strong work from Arts & Science courses. For prospective Arts & Science students, we hope that these pieces will help you gain a sense of the critical thinking and writing skills fostered in the program. For current students, we hope it is helpful to have examples of work from classes you are taking or considering, to assist with your own writing and connect you to others with similar research interests. And for alumni, we hope Aletheia can help you to stay up to date with your alma mater. For everyone, perhaps this journal will come in handy when you are inevitably asked the question: “So, what is Arts & Science?”
Our theme for this edition is Resilience. In deciding on a theme for our inaugural edition, we were keen to capture the complexity and crises of our current time; a time in which communities have come together to question long-established practices and systems, and in which a global pandemic has compelled us to cope with adversity in new ways. The papers in this edition discuss strength and adaptability in the face of hardship, taking up diverse topics such as the Holocaust, climate change, and women’s rights. While almost all of the papers were written before COVID-19, we thought that they spoke well to the resilience needed to navigate our current world.
Thank you for taking the time to read Aletheia. We hope that you enjoy going through it as much as we enjoyed putting it together.
