Common Forms is MAPH's academic journal, designed for students and alumni to publish works created in and out of the program. It is a forum for emerging voices, a place for students to collaborate as editors and writers, and a proudly interdisciplinary journal in the broader spirit of MAPH’s intellectual history.
Details + How to Get Involved
Common Forms is a peer-reviewed journal in which MAPH students and alumni may publish creative, critical, or hybrid work. The journal attends current conversations within and outside academia, and is committed to publishing work from diverse interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary points of view. The MAPH Mentors organize and oversee Common Forms, and each issue is organized around a theme chosen by the student editorial team.
After the start of the year, Common Forms will open for student submissions, and students will receive a series of communications with details on how to become involved as contributors or editors. After submissions open, they will operate on a rolling schedule, and can include:
- Academic Papers (10 pages maximum, single-spaced)
- Poetry (5 poems maximum)
- Short Fiction
- Nonfiction
- Reviews (cinema and media/ fine art/ books)
- Visual Art
- Musical Compositions (15-minute maximum)
- Short Films (15-minute maximum)
If your piece exceeds the limits specified here, excerpts may be published instead of the full piece. Once this year's issue is completed, Common Forms will be published in full online, and you can also browse previous issues, at voices.uchicago.edu/commonforms.
Please note that submissions have closed until after the start of the 2025-2026 academic year!