COVID-19 Adaptations

Stance During COVID-19

The development of each volume of Stance spans the course of two semesters, with the fall semester dedicated to onboarding and training internal and external staff members and the winter and spring to reviewing submissions and designing the journal. Due to the pandemic, many of the fall semester’s collaborative training exercises moved from the classroom to Zoom, and team bonding activities were also held virtually or in an outdoor setting. In previous years, Stance would also allot time to travel to an undergraduate philosophy conference in the fall, and while that was off the table this year, Stance did not squander the opportunity to pursue alternative ventures. Instead, we capitalized on this extra time, revamping our website and ramping up social media efforts.

Content Review Adaptations:

The pandemic also impacted the way that we carried out the review and selection process for our submissions this year. Early January is the busiest time for content editors at Stance as we return to classes and carry out extensive discussions on submitted papers, but the changes to the Ball State academic calendar this year pushed back the beginning of the spring semester by a week. However, we were able to publish volume fourteen of Stance without having to delay the publication date by accommodating for these changes. We carried out initial discussions on papers remotely through video calls with our small groups before classes officially started. We also challenged ourselves by reading and reviewing a substantial number of papers the weekend before the first week of classes, allowing us to immediately begin our large group discussions as soon as possible. While the changes made for the pandemic presented a challenge for our group, we were able to successfully overcome them and make it yet another opportunity to learn and grow as students.

Copy-Editing Adaptations:

COVID-19 similarly impacted Stance’s usual copy-editing timeline. However, the copy team took this opportunity to revise and streamline their editing process. In previous semesters, editing would not begin until all of the final papers had been selected. The bulk of the editing would take place over a weeklong period during spring break. This year, however, they began the process early, editing a larger number of papers over a longer period of time. Though not all of the edited papers were ultimately included in the journal, this change helped to create a more balanced timeline overall. What first appeared to be an obstacle for Stance ultimately proved beneficial in updating the copy-editing process.

Production Process Adaptations:

Due to the amount of time and effort that goes into laying out the final version of the Stance journal, Ball State's spring break in early March is extremely valuable to the production process. The design team is able to focus on the final step of the process while other classes and coursework are paused. With spring break being canceled due to COVID-19, the production team had to navigate the production process with increased care and attention. In the end, the three members of the team were able to delegate the work and still assemble a complete, cohesive journal that stayed consistent with the quality seen in previous editions. Another new element introduced in Stance for 2021 was the opportunity for two design team members to participate remotely. Through the use of constant communication via emails and virtual calls, this unprecedented circumstance was successfully handled with professionalism.