There’s a new, open-access, peer-reviewed scholarly journal focusing on philosophy of technology and related fields, with an emphasis on public engagement.

The Journal of Sociotechnical Critique (JSC) “seeks to support theoretically-engaged critical, public, and activist work at the intersections of philosophy of technology, internet studies, communications theory, library and information science, environmental ethics, and related fields.” It has just begun accepting submissions.

JSC will publish research articles, public scholarship (“critical and theoretically-grounded writing for a general audience”), and reports on “field philosophy, action research, direct action, engaged or participatory research, activist scholarship, policy work, consultancy, and work in and with industry.”

The journal’s editorial commitments, laid out here, make it somewhat distinctive. They include the following:

• Digital media and online culture call for new, agile social-critical theory that should be published quickly and without paywalls in order to ensure that high-quality research that takes place within swiftly-changing technological landscapes is available while it is as relevant and lively as possible, and to as many readers as possible.
• The proper response to theoretical positions may be direct engagement or action and, conversely… direct engagement or action can provide insight and understanding at a theoretical level.
• Public engagement and direct action can be a proper part of scholarship and research; that, as social-critical scholars, working on implementations suggested by our scholarship is legitimate research activity.
• Insofar as scholarship makes normative claims about policy, public opinion, or contemporary activities or beliefs, it is a legitimate part of scholarship to engage directly with the public… this is not a derivative or mere application of research, but is itself a productive scholarly act which increases knowledge, information, and impact just as does any other original research.

JSC’s editorial team consists of D.E. Wittkower (Old Dominion) as editor-in-chief, associate editors Adam Briggle (North Texas), Sky Croeser (Curtin), and Shannon Vallor (Santa Clara), and managing editor Kilsa Benjamin (Old Dominion). It is published by ODU Digital Commons. Its main page is here. You can also follow the journal on Facebook and Twitter.

Laura Owens – from the “Ten Paintings” series