The papers published this year in Dialogues@RU engage an incredible range of topics and issues across academic disciplines. The papers are not reports of information, but analytical research projects written by undergraduate students in the Rutgers Writing Program to contribute their own original thinking and independent voice to ongoing scholarly conversations.
You will read fascinating ideas in this journal. One writer claims that the same psychological processes that explain the passion of avid sports fans can be used to understand the dynamic that exists between improvisational jazz musicians and their audiences. Another argues that Alexander McQueen's provocative designs might be misogynistic at first glance, but when considered in historical context, become expressions of female strength and power. Still another writer links the likelihood of doctors using electroconvulsive therapy for treating mental illness to popular culture views of the procedure rather than medical evidence.
These are but a sample of the wide variety of excellent papers in this year's collection. The Dialogues@RU project continues to grow. The 20 papers in this volume were selected from among 240 papers submitted by students who received an A in Research in the Disciplines during the 2013-14 academic year. Each semester, an editorial board of interns reads, selects, and edits the papers, so this journal is both written by and edited by Rutgers undergraduates–an impressive accomplishment from our talented students.
