Journal editors

When Carla Simonini moved from Rhode Island to Ohio seven years ago, she brought with her a well-defined East Coast perspective.

“I had no idea there was such a strong Italian American presence in Ohio,” said Simonini, associate professor and director of Italian in YSU’s Department of Foreign Languages and Literature.

“I was amazed. The focus in Italian American studies is so skewed toward New York and large urban centers. These smaller places not on either coast get overlooked.”

Simonini, who holds a PhD in Italian Studies from Brown University, is able to share that broader perspective as editor of Italian Americana, a peer-reviewed journal dedicated to exploring the Italian experience in the New World.

She is among about a dozen YSU faculty who serve as editors of national scholarly journals, including seven in the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences alone – a clear indication of YSU’s growing national scholarly prominence.

“For a university our size to have such a concentration of journal editors speaks well to the expertise and hard work of our faculty and to the university’s efforts to ramp up scholarly activity,” said Martin Abraham, provost.

“Even more,” added Mike Hripko, associate vice president for Research, “having these journals and this level of scholarly discourse on campus are a great benefit to our students.”

Journal editors are scattered across just about every college on campus, including Abraham, who edits Environmental Progress and Sustainable Energy. But you’ll find the greatest concentration in DeBartolo Hall and CLASS, home to seven faculty journal editors.

“This is huge for YSU,” Alan Tomhave, associate professor of Philosophy, who, along with Professor Mark Vopat, are editors of Teaching Ethics, a national journal that publishes articles having to do with the teaching of ethics in all its forms.

“It ensures that our students have faculty who are up on the latest issues, research and techniques for teaching ethics.”

That’s the key, said Kristine Blair, CLASS dean.

“We can do all of the scholarly work and writing and editing in the world, but it is paramount that we take that knowledge and share it across our disciplines and apply it in the classroom,” she said.

Blair, professor of English, is editor of Computers and Composition, an international journal that explores issues connected with writing and computer use. Recent issues have included articles on Twitter and protest, history writing and Wikipedia, and comparing essays written on paper vs. on a laptop. The journal boasts more than 80,000 online downloads annually and a readership in five continents.

Also with an international readership is Studies in Contemporary Islam, a refereed journal devoted to the understanding and analysis of contemporary Islamic developments and edited by Mustansir Mir, professor of Islamic Studies.

A native of Pakistan with a PhD from the University of Michigan, Mir came to YSU in 1996 to direct the newly formed YSU Center for Islamic Studies and helped start the journal in 1999.

“It had always been my wish to publish a periodical in the field of Islamic Studies that would, on the one hand, highlight issues of both religious and social significance, and, on the other, establish continuities between premodern and modern times with regard to Islamic research,” he said.

Also tackling the world of religion is Michael Jerryson, associate professor of Religious Studies and the outgoing editor of the Journal of Religion and Violence, focusing on contemporary and historical religious groups involved in violent incidents.

“Within every religion, there’s always a reticence to talk about the less savory characteristics and history in your own religion, whether it’s Christians talking about the violence of Christianity or in Islam or in Buddhism,” said Jerryson, co-founder and co-chair of Comparative Approaches to Religion and Violence through the American Academy of Religion.

Closer to home, Donna DeBlasio, professor of History, edits Ohio History, a journal that publishes articles spanning the political, military, economic and cultural history of Ohio and the Midwest.

“For my students, they have an opportunity for a hands on experience working with an academic journal,” said DeBlasio, who has published several books on the history of the Youngstown region.

“For me, it’s been an interesting experience on many levels, working with my colleagues across the state and also learning more about regional history.”

Also in the CLASS college, Phil Brady, professor of English, is founder and executive director of Etruscan Press, a national literary publishing house.

Brady is an award-winning poet whose writing has appeared in more than 50 national and international journals. Books published by Etruscan have won several national and international awards, including three National Book Award finalists.