We would like to announce an exciting new project/initiative from the organisers of Trans- States. Monad: Journal of Transformative Practice, a transdisciplinary, open access (OA), scholastic peer-reviewed journal focusing on contemporary practices (and practitioners) that engage in progressive individual and/or cultural transformation.
On Thursday 9th November we are holding a one-day research symposium at the University of Northampton to officially launch the Monad project and journal.
This event is building upon the successes, at Northampton, of both the Trans- States and Punk Scholar’s Network conferences and their common core themes of progressive change by way of transformative practice. An outline of the Monad project and journal can be found below.
For more information about the launch event see the Monad Journal website: http://www.monadjournal.com/launch
We have a number of exciting contributors and affiliates in place for the project and launch symposium but in line with the project’s democratising principles we would like to advertise our openness for additional expressions of interests.
Monad Project Synopsis
The Monad project and journal, will function as a digital hub, archiving and sharing principles of ‘best practice’ for realising progressive change. We recognise that such change comes both from self-development and engaging with community. We also recognise, that transformative practice is not the domain of any single field or discipline. A good idea is evidenced by putting it into practice, and good practice, speaks for itself.
The Monad journal, is a transdisciplinary, open access (OA), scholastic journal focusing on contemporary practices (and practitioners) that engage in progressive individual and/or cultural transformation.
We aim to provide a digital publishing platform for practices, and practitioners, that actively seek to combat hegemony, challenge normativity and contravene conformity.
We seek authors, but not necessarily authorities. As part of our democratising principles, the project and journal will be radically inclusive. Also, as one might infer from the name, Monad, we will be looking for contributions that are unitarian, and we will reject explicitly divisive or polemic material. There is, of course, the need for robust debate in all arenas, but Monad is a platform for proposing ways of bridging differences, not for “othering” or entrenchment.
We will facilitate the discovery and dissemination of exceptional transformative practice by utilising the open-source model of shared and decentralised development, encouraging open-collaboration, but also recognising, individual authorship and achievement — thereby providing both individual and cultural benefit. (Better technologies and methods of transformative practice, and recognition of individual innovation and excellence, through a dedicated, transdisciplinary, publishing platform and archive).
Our mission is to seek out, publish and share — methods, models and makers of change.
All work will be judged entirely on its own merit. Affiliates and contributors may be from any background, with no minimum education levels, but the work itself will evidence expertise and innovation, in the area of interest it engages. When we refer to the content of this project as scholastic, we mean: implicitly educational.
Materials we seek to archive and share will include text-based articles, audio-visual works (e.g. short films and documentaries, video art, audio-visual presentations), audio-only works, or even, images with exegesis. As a guide, we are equally interested in the following fields:
• Transformative spiritual/religious practice
• Transformative artistic practice
• Transformative political practice
• Transformative scientific and clinical practice