Submit a Pitch: Life After the Elections

On November 5, 2024 the United States will experience another general election that will shake up our country in one way or another. While this will be a collective national experience, the impact will be felt differently by members of our country.

For this upcoming Spark Magazine series, we invite scholars who can offer informed guidance on how to navigate life after the elections.

Scholars are invited to submit a pitch by Friday, August 9th. Invited contributors will draft an essay (800–1,200 words) and will be assigned a reviewer. We anticipate publishing by December 2024.

Potential essays may consider the following prompts, but are not limited to:

• Promoting Positive Mental Health & Well-Being: What impact do election outcomes have on the well-being of people, particularly those who have been oppressed by our democratic system? How can we promote positive mental health and well-being post elections?
• Continuing Education, Dialogue, and Action: How can educators, employers, and community leaders continue to engage people post-elections to promote dialogue? How can individuals plan to engage in our democratic process during “off cycle” election years?
• Re-imagining our Democracy: What are the opportunities to re-imagine an inclusive democracy? What can we learn from other democracies? How can we continue to instill hope for our future?

Please keep in mind that the audience for Spark is not specific to any discipline or education level. Envision the reader as someone with a broad understanding of research and scholarship, but without specific knowledge of your field. Pitches will be reviewed by considering public accessibility, grounded in diversity scholarship, and clear writing organization and style. Priority selection will be given to members of the Diversity Scholars Network.

The Spark Magazine is managed by the National Center for Institutional Diversity at the University of Michigan and offers timely and scholarly-informed essays on historical and current social issues. The editorial team centers a social justice approach to the review and publication process.

If you have any questions about the pitch submission process, please contact managing editor Laura Sanchez-Parkinson at lasanche@umich.edu.