About

Who we are, what we publish, and the people who read every submission.

Journal information

Curiositas is an academic journal published by Austin Community College. It exists to give student work an audience beyond the classroom in which it was made.

The premiere issue of Curiositas was published in April 2023. It is archived and available for reading or download, along with every issue since, in the archive.

Our Mission

We publish academic work produced by students that demonstrates a unifying vision of the creative and intellectual worlds.

These might include critical essays, podcasts or videos that are academic in scope. While our focus is the liberal arts, we will consider submissions from other disciplines when they meet our editorial principles.

  • WritingAcademic essays
  • MakingArtwork and music related to course materials
  • DigitalPodcasts, videos and websites
  • CourseworkClass projects and presentations
Curiositas — an intense, almost meddlesome curiosity.

Acknowledgements

Curiositas was made possible with the support of a research fellowship at Austin Community College. Our thanks to Dr. Susan M. Thomason, Associate Vice Chancellor of the Teaching & Learning Excellence Division at ACC, for her support and her belief in the transformative power of the liberal arts.

Faculty Leadership

Meet the Curiositas faculty leadership team.

Toño Ramirez

Dean, Liberal Arts: Humanities & Communications

[email protected]

Alex Watkins

Editor-in-Chief · Assistant Professor of English

[email protected]

Editorial Principles

The values we read for, and the standard we hold published work to.

Pluralism

People of different beliefs, experiences and values all have a voice within a thriving democracy and a thriving classroom. Respecting and exploring many ways of seeing produces the fullest vision.

Literacies

Linguistic creativity, power and precision exist within many communities. A key goal is to investigate how different communities and disciplines think, speak, read, write and understand evidence.

Evidence

Evidence-based thinking is the basis for arriving at fact and truth: research-based inquiry, flexible thinking, awareness of bias, learning from mistakes, and attention to nuance and context.

Equity

We seek to understand barriers to equity and access in all areas of society, investigating root causes of inequity with a commitment to providing opportunity.

Engagement

Intellectual curiosity and the pursuit of truth. Students bring their experiences and passions to the classroom, staying open-minded and focused on exploration and personal growth.

Five P’s of intellectual character

The verbs we hope to see at work in every submission.

  • PersevereDon’t give up — in this assignment, in this course, in a conversation, in a line of inquiry, or in the pursuit of truth.
  • ProgressLearn how to gauge progress for yourself — benchmarks, indicators, self-reflection and honesty. We stand on the shoulders of giants, but give yourself credit for climbing up there to have a look.
  • ProduceMake meaningful intellectual work — and challenge yourself to do better work every next time.
  • PromoteShare the fruits of your work with others, both as a courageous attempt to say something true and as an invitation to hear others critique it.
  • PerpetuateDeepen these traits into habits of mind, and expand them to encompass more and more of your intellectual life.

Austin Community College

The Austin Community College District promotes student success and community development by providing affordable access, through traditional and distance learning modes, to higher education and workforce training — including appropriate applied baccalaureate degrees — in its service area.

Curiositas is an Austin Community College publication. Opening hearts, opening minds.