
We started 2026 with some big news . . . Please join us in welcoming the Journal of the Muhyiddin Ibn ‘Arabi Society to the University of Illinois Press. The Journal of the Muhyiddin Ibn ‘Arabi Society, edited by Mukhtar H. Ali, is a peer-reviewed scholarly publication dedicated to the study of the life, thought, and legacy of the great Andalusian mystic Muhyiddin Ibn ‘Arabi (1165–1240). Published biannually on behalf of the Muhyiddin Ibn ‘Arabi Society, it serves as an international forum for rigorous academic research on Ibn ‘Arabi’s writings and their intellectual, spiritual, and historical contexts. Learn more!
And that’s not all. Keep reading below for the latest special issues, a podcast episode, blogs, and more from the more than 40 University of Illinois Press journals.
Special Issues

- “Care Work for Communities of Color in Higher Education: Reimagining Professional Pathways and Well-being,” Women, Gender, and Families of Color, Volume 12, Numbers 1-2. Plus, check out that cover redesign!
- “Remembering Jadwiga Maurer: Teacher, Scholar, Creative Writer,” The Polish Review, Volume 71, Number 1, guest edited by Joanna Rostropowicz Clark
- “Essays on Illinois and American 250,” Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society, Volume 119, Number 1, edited by Robert D. Sampson (See “What’s Next UP?” for more on America at 250)
- “SAAP 2025 Conference Proceedings,” The Pluralist, Volume 21, Number 1, guest edited by Tess Varner
- “Aesthetics, Care, and Action,” Journal of Aesthetic Education, Volume 60, Number 1, guest edited by Michael Garbutt and Soheil Ashrafi *OPEN ACCESS*
- “Listening to Caribbean Music,” American Music, Volume 42, Number 4, guest edited by Jessica Swanston Baker
Blogs
We announced the winner of this year’s Ludwik Krzyzanowski Award for the best article published in The Polish Review: Colin P. Neufeldt and Wojciech Marchlewski for “Escape to Freedom and Return to Bondage: A Case Study of the Flight of Mennonites from Deutsch Wymyschle and Gabin, Poland, in Early 1945,” published in Vol. 69, Iss. 3, 2024. Read the citation from the Editorial Board.
Visual Arts Research Volume 51, Number 2, is the second of a two-issue special open access volume, and with it, we welcomed two new editors to the VAR editorial team. Current editor Sarah Travis is joined by incoming editors Jennifer Bergmark and Merel Visse. Meet the editors and learn more about the special issues.
In more new editor news, Public Affairs Quarterly welcomed Jessica Flanigan as the new editor of Public Affairs Quarterly! Her first issue, Vol. 39, Iss. 3, is now available online. Our blog features a Q & A with her to preview her goals and vision for the journal.
While you’re on the blog, find your next read on one of our book and journal reading lists:
- Women’s History Month
- World Day of Social Justice
- Black History Month
- International Day of Education Reading List
- Martin Luther King, Jr Day: A Civil Rights Reading List

Featured Top Articles
What’s been a highly read article in these journals for the past three months? Many of our journals have content on several different online platforms, so this feature section is only highlighting one top article from one platform (in the case of the below, these are top articles from the Scholarly Publishing Collective, which hosts most of our current content).
- American Journal of Psychology: “Perception Over Personality in Lethal Force: Aggression, Impulsivity, and Big Five Traits in Threat Assessments and Behavioral Responses due to Weapon Presence and Posture” by Adam T. Biggs; Joel Suss, Sarah Sherwood, Joseph A. Hamilton, and Tatana Olson (Vol. 135, No. 2) *OPEN ACCESS
- Polish American Studies: “Poles in Seattle 1890–2020: Toward a Conceptualization of the Immigrant Experience” by Dorota Praszalowicz (Vol. 82, No. 1) *OPEN ACCESS
- American Philosophical Quarterly: “A Capability Approach to AI Ethics” by Emanuele Ratti and Mark Graves (Vol. 62, No. 1)
- Ethnomusicology: “President’s Roundtable: ‘Tell Me a Story’: Stories that Inform, Transform, and Guide” by Tomie Hahn (chair), Jessica Baker, Corinna Campbell, J. Martin Daughtry, Yun Emily Wang, and Damascus Kafumbe (Vol. 69, No. 3)
- Journal of American Ethnic History: “Asian American Disability: A History and Its Archives” by Naoko Wake (Vol. 43, No. 3)
- Journal of Appalachian Studies: “Domestic Orientalism: Barbara Kingsolver’s Demon Copperhead as a Counter to the Stereotyping of the Appalachians” by Isra Daraiseh (Vol. 31, No. 2)
- Journal of Finnish Studies: “Introduction: Finland in Imperial Context” by Alex Snellman and Kristiina Kalleinen (Vol. 25, No. 2)
- Journal of Mormon History: “The RLDS Church, Global Denominations, and Globalization: Why the Study of Denominations Still Matters” by David J. Howlett (Vol. 48, No. 3)
- Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society: “Introduction to a Special Issue” [on The Illinois Freedom Corridor] by Kate Williams-McWorter and Brittney Yancy
- Utah Historical Quarterly: “The Mexican Consulate: A Key Component in Establishing a Latino Community in Urban Utah” by Jorge Iber (Vol. 92, No. 1)
Podcasts

In the latest episode of the University of Press podcast, The UPside, Ryan Calabretta-Sajder, editor of Diasporic Italy: Journal of the Italian American Studies Association, sat down (virtually) with guest editors Dr. Elisa Bordin and Dr. Theodora Patrona to discuss a new special issue of Diasporic Italy on fathers, fathering, and fatherhood in the Italian American narrative. You can listen to the podcast or read a transcript of the conversation on our blog.

What’s Next UP?
Did you know that Jazz and Culture publishes poetry, in addition to cutting-edge research on jazz from multiple perspectives? Or, that April is both jazz AND poetry month? Check out our blog and free to read poems in April!
We’ll be welcoming Caroline Kline and Margaret Olsen Hemming as new editors of Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought! Their first issue as editors, Volume 59, Issue 1, is coming soon, and with it a Q&A on our blog.
Looking even further ahead, we’re preparing some exciting content for the America at 250 celebration in coordination with some very special issues from our state history journals. Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society has just published a special issue “Essays on Illinois and America 250.” Rather than attempting a full state history, this collection of 27 essays provides snapshots of the people, events, challenges, and achievements that have shaped both Illinois and the nation over the past two and a half centuries. The entire 2026 Volume (4 issues) of Utah Historical Quarterly is dedicated to a huge project called the Peoples of Utah Revisited, with the goal of documenting the history of new or overlooked Utah communities. The first entry in this special volume, Volume 94, Issue 1, is available now. In the fall, Connecticut History Review, official journal of the Association for the Study of Connecticut History,will be publishing a special issue on Connecticut and the American Revolution in honor of the 250th anniversary. Be on the lookout this July for more on these state history special issues.
All of that and more, coming your way soon. (Not to mention new issues publishing all the time!)
