CfP: Scholarship and Practice of Undergraduate Research: Undergraduate Research and Climate Change
Climate change is the existential crisis of this century, affecting biodiversity, ecosystems, and all aspects of human life. This is a topic of enormous breadth, complexity, and particular urgency with respect to knowledge, innovation, collaboration, advocacy, and activism. This theme issue of the peer-reviewed Scholarship and Practice of Undergraduate Research (SPUR) will explore the broad and impactful work of undergraduate research in the context of climate change. Are there particular models of collaborative research vital for this work? Are there particular challenges associated with the interdisciplinary demands of the interrelated impacts of climate change? Are course-based undergraduate research experiences (CUREs) an effective model for teaching about climate change impacts? How do faculty and students translate research into advocacy?
Four to five articles are sought from a wide range of disciplines that explore how undergraduate research engages in and contributes to this multifaceted, critical area of inquiry and develops effective collaborations and solutions. In addition, shorter vignettes (300 words) are invited that offer concrete, creative suggestions with regard to engaging student researchers with climate change and its effects.
Topics of interest include the following:
- The impact of undergraduate research on policy at the local, state, national, or international levels
- Models of undergraduate research designed to engage communities and develop solutions
- Connections between undergraduate research and advocacy
- Interdisciplinary collaborations involving undergraduate research and climate change
- Innovative models engaging students in some aspect of climate change-related impact or new initiative such as carbon reduction, clean energy sources, architecture and urban design, altered weather patterns, climate-resilient economies, climate-related migrations, agricultural practices, and food security.
Submission Details. Submit a 300- to 500-word prospectus to https://spur.msubmit.net by July 27, 2020, describing the focus of the proposed article or vignette. Accepted authors will be notified by August 3, 2020.
Contact Info:
James LaPlant, SPUR Editor-in-Chief, Dean of Humanities & Social Sciences, Valdosta State University
Contact Email: