Shift is always looking for interested graduate students who would like to become part of the journal’s administrative team. If you would like more information about any of the opportunities for involvement that are listed below, please contact the Co-Editors at editors@shiftjournal.org.

Editorial Committee

Members of the Editorial Committee are responsible for vetting all submissions, including both scholarly papers and visual works of art, in the selection process for each issue of the journal. The Editorial Committee decides which papers are forwarded to the Editorial Board for final selection and which art works are forwarded to the Co-Editors for final approval. The majority of the work done by Editorial Committee members falls in the spring of each year. Members of the Editorial Committee must be working on a Master’s (MA) or Doctoral degree (PhD) for the duration of their tenure.

Co-Editors

The Co-Editors are current graduate students who are responsible for working together to complete the day-to-day administration of the journal. The position of Editor is shared between two people, a Junior Co-Editor and a Senior Co-Editor. Only current graduate students at the journal’s host institution(s) are eligible for these appointments. The tenure of the Co-Editor position is for two years, beginning in August and ending in November of her/his second year. This term includes the editorial process for two issues of the journal.

Editorial Board

The Editorial Board is responsible for the final acceptances and rejections of papers for each issue of the journal. Members are currently working within the field of visual and material culture in an academic or related professional position. The Editorial Board provides essential oversight for the academic rigor and relevance of the papers selected for publication in the current issue of Shift.

Steering Committee

The Steering Committee is responsible for ensuring that Shift operates in a stable and successful manner. Ideally, members of the Steering Committee are former Editors or members of the Editorial Committee who have worked on a previous issue of Shift and, as such, are familiar with the organization and administration of the journal. The Steering Committee is therefore comprised of recent graduate students from a variety of academic departments within the current host institution(s) who take their roles for a one-year tenure with a maximum of one renewable term.

Host Institutions

If you study, teach at, or are affiliated with an academic institution with a graduate program that may be interested in hosting Shift: Graduate Journal in Visual and Material Culture for a three-year term, please contact the journal’s Co-Editors by sending an email to editors@shiftjournal.org Universities that are interested in hosting Shift for a three-year cycle must:

  1. Be able to designate an academic department with a graduate program that will act as the “home base” of the journal. Provided there is a link to the study of visual and material culture, this can be a graduate program in any department, including, but not limited to, Cultural Studies, Art, History, and/or English departments.
  2. Have a professor who is willing and able to sign on as the journal’s Faculty Advisor.
  3. Have a graduate student who is eligible, willing, and able to act as one of the journal’s Co-Editors for a full two-year term.
  4. Open a bank account at the institution in the name of the journal, which must be up and running to receive funding in the fall.
  5. Be willing to work according to the Mandate and within the organizational structure outlined in Shift’s Constitution during its tenure as Host Institution.