BLOOMINGTON, Ill. - The spring 2026 issue of Titan Humanitas marks the inaugural volume of IWU’s newest undergraduate journal. The first issue is being celebrated with a launch party on Mar. 10 at 4 p.m. at the new Center for the Humanities on the first floor of the Center for Liberal Arts. Light refreshments will be provided.
With an editorial board of five IWU students, ranging from seniors to first-years, the journal seeks to publish “anything research-focused that is looking into humanistic inquiry,” according to faculty advisor Assistant Professor of History Alyssa Culp.
The first issue lives up to that breadth of inquiry, including analysis of The Taming of the Shrew by theatre major Hannah Steck ‘26 and a review of the history of psychiatric treatment via a nurse manual by neuroscience major Vanessa Boksa ‘27.
“We tend to think of our disciplines like, ‘STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) writing is like this while humanities writing is like this,’ but if you read the articles, you’ll see that the more STEM-like papers are fantastic for readers interested in the humanities,” Culp said.
The process of choosing articles for the journal is selective, with the editorial board accepting about half of the submitted articles for the first issue. The journal has also drawn interest from students at other Midwest institutions who would like to be published, though the journal, so far, has only published IWU students.
The breadth of experience on the editorial board and subject matter in the journal itself has been a welcome challenge for first-year editorial board member Ellie McEnery ‘29, who is studying history with a minor in journalism.
“I was really skeptical at first,” McEnery said of the conversation in which Culp asked her to join the Titan Humanitas editorial board. “It was challenging to put out my opinions on what papers we wanted to publish. I was like, ‘I’m a freshman, what do I know?’” But with Culp’s vote of confidence, she says she has grown more confident in her own analytical ability and looks forward to future editions of the journal.
The online version of Titan Humanitas will be available live later this spring, housed in IWU’s digital commons. Future issues will also accept article submissions on a rolling basis.