Home > HSS > History > RELS > IMWJOURNAL
Aims & Scope
A Unique Journal
The Intermountain West Journal of Religious Studies is a student initiative at Utah State University. The journal has been established to promote the academic study of religion among students through the publication of graduate and undergraduate research.
The journal is unique at Utah State University in three ways:
- The IMW Journal is entirely student run with an academic review board consisting exclusively of scholars in the field. The staff consists of USU students; Two students act as editors in chief one as managing editor and six serve as associate editors. Though student editors participate in screening submissions, membership in the academic review board is limited to professional scholars.
- The IMW Journal seeks submissions from students throughout the United States and the world. Whereas the vast majority of undergraduate or graduate journals limit submissions to their respective universities, the IMW Journal actively promotes the study of religion across the globe. The journal is enhanced through diversity. The University and Program is promoted via the journal’s outreach efforts. Obviously, special benefits remain for USU students, including participation in journal publishing.
- The IMW Journal takes full advantage of the benefits of electronic publishing. Publications enhance any young scholar’s Curriculum Vita. Students are limited to the number of semesters they are eligible and able to submit their research to journals in order to meet the deadlines of graduate school applications. The journal publishes materials on an ongoing rather than a periodic basis, eliminating any backlog between acceptance and publication. It is conceivable that an article could be submitted and published electronically by the next month.
One final advantage the IMW Journal has in producing a quality product is the active participation of Dr. Charles Prebish, the Chair of Religious Studies at Utah State University. Dr. Prebish is the founding editor-emeritus for the Journal of Buddhist Ethics, the first online peer-reviewed journal in Religious Studies. Dr. Prebish has agreed to advise the Intermountain West Journal of Religious Studies, instructing and counseling the editors in a successful student initiative.
Aims
The Intermountain West Journal of Religious Studies has been established to promote the academic study of religion among students through the publication of graduate and undergraduate research.
Description
The Intermountain West Journal of Religious Studies will primarily utilize an electronic mode of publication. In most other respects, however, it functions as a traditional scholarly journal. Research articles as well as discussions and critical notes submitted to the journal are subject to blind peer review.
The Concept of an Online Journal
An online journal differs from a traditional journal in publishing electronically as opposed to a printed format. The Intermountain West Journal of Religious Studies also publishes material on an ongoing rather than a periodic basis, eliminating any backlog between acceptance and publication.
Why Publish Online?
Online journals are a logical development in the use of information technology. The dissemination of information through this medium has three main advantages over publication in the traditional manner, namely, cost, speed, and ease of access. Other advantages of an electronic medium include keyword searching and the use of multimedia and hypertext formats.
Editorial Policy
The editors are committed to the widest dissemination for material published by the journal. As well as publishing online they will also explore possibilities for the publication of the contents of the journal from time to time in partnership with traditional presses.
