Special Issues
Thematic issues with guest editors
About Special Issues
The Journal of Contemplative Studies publishes Special Issues with guest editors on thematically coherent topics in Contemplative Studies. Each Special Issue, curated by guest editors, invites authors to contribute original research and scholarship on a single topic. Guest editors can either be invited by a member of the JCS Executive or Editorial Board to curate a Special Issue or propose a Special Issue via the online form accessed on the Submissions webpage. Proposals are reviewed by the JCS Editors and if selected, the guest editors will be invited into the production process. While topically collated, articles are peer-reviewed and published on a rolling basis.
Special Issue #03
Contemplative Ecology
Douglas Christie, Loyola Marymount University
Simone Kotva, Cambridge University
Ariel Evan Mayse, Stanford University
Devin Zuckerman, University of Virginia
This special issue explores how contemplative practices, and the academic study of contemplation, can sensitize us to the ecological worlds in which we are embedded, and offer practices of attention and action that entail meaningful responses to ecological change. Broad and marshy in scope, authors in this special issue are invited to think with the concept of an ecotone, the transitional space between different ecosystems, as a way of conceptualizing the novel, interdisciplinary, and multi-perspectival approaches to ecology made possible under the rubric of Contemplative Studies. Invited formats for contributions therefore include research articles, short-form explorations, translations, annotated descriptions of contemplative practices with guidelines for contemporary use, and creative multimedia projects (visual art, video, music, and design). Read the full abstract here.
Special Issue #02
Mindful Practices and Embodied Critical Thinking: Tensions and Transitions
Donata Schoeller, TECT (Training Embodied Critical Thinking)
Sigridur Thorgeirsdottir, University of Iceland
Greg Walkerden, Macquarie University, Australia
This Special Issue explores embodied approaches to critical, analytic, and systematic thinking in dialogue with mindfulness practices. Articles focus on (i.) basic styles of meditative attention that support staying with an experience, and (ii.) practices of embodied critical thinking that engage with complex issues to move towards change. In so doing, authors ask, “What characterizes a mindful kind of thinking that engages bodily experiences to support careful and sensitive consideration of complex issues?” Authors draw from Euro-American contemplative traditions and contemporary philosophies including pragmatism, phenomenology, and Eugene Gendlin’s process philosophy to explore novel conceptual and practical approaches. Read the full abstract here.
Special Issue #01
Psychedelics, Contemplation, and Religion
Daniel A. Hirshberg, University of Colorado-Boulder
Stuart Ray Sarbacker, Oregon State University
Psychedelics are enjoying a popular and scientific resurgence of interest due to rigorous documentation of their therapeutic potential and experiences perceived to be profoundly spiritual. In this Special Issue, authors examine the role of psychedelics across a range of religious contexts and reflect on broad philosophical and interpretive frameworks utilized in research and practice. Articles contribute measured, nuanced, and accurate accounts of psychoactive substances in religion and contemplative practice. As a whole, the issue provides foundations for thinking critically and strategically about how scholarship on psychedelics can contribute to understandings of religious, therapeutic, and recreational applications of such substances in contemporary contexts. Read the full abstract here.