Knochel earns honors for online journal

An online journal guest-edited by Aaron Knochel, associate professor of art education, has been honored by the Council of Editors of Learned Journals (CELJ). Ground Works, the Alliance for the Arts in Research Universities’ (a2ru) peer-reviewed journal highlighting interdisciplinary, arts-inclusive research, received CELJ’s 2022 “Best Special Issue” award for Vibrant Ecologies of Research. The award was announced at the 2023 Modern Language Association (MLA) conference in San Francisco in January.

“It is very gratifying to have this recognition from the CELJ both for the hard work of the authors and the vision of the editorial team and board that is a2ru Ground Works,” said Knochel. “We’re trying to push academic publishing into new spaces to address the complex challenges we all face. I’m proud that the collection may show some pathways to generate possibility, but of course the work goes on.”

The special issue explores the ecologies where arts-based inquiry thrives in conversation with social and scientific research. In its award citation, the CELJ award review committee said Vibrant Ecologies of Research “makes clear the importance of providing a generative space for work that does not fit in traditional disciplinary journals or galleries … The committee was particularly taken with the interactive and dynamic aspects of the special issue, creative use of visual artifacts, and strong collection of individual articles and commentary.”