Edge Effects, One Year On

At about this time last year, as the weather turned toward autumn and the new semester was gaining momentum, a fledgling Edge Effects Editorial Board prepared to make its very first post. A few weeks’ worth of essays, fieldnotes, reviews, commentary, checklists, and exhibits were in the queue; we’d developed a robust editorial system; and the leader of our development working group and inaugural managing editor, Adam Mandelman, had carefully designed our WordPress site. Then, on a Thursday morning in early October, Adam hit “Publish,” and Edge Effects came into being.

Later this week, we will hear from Adam about how Edge Effects evolved, from its beginnings as an inchoate idea among a few graduate students, to our extensive development meetings, to the instructive process of figuring out our editorial style, to the range of content we’ve published over the last year. Adam’s post will be valuable as a history of and reflection on our blog, but also as a guide for others who may be interested in creating something like Edge Effects.

Today, we celebrate Edge Effects for what it has become: a wonderful space for interdisciplinary conversation—in words, in images, and in many other forms of media—and an increasingly valuable source of public scholarship for those who are drawn to the intersections between culture, history, and environment. Edge Effects now receives 140 average daily visitors, yielding 4000-7000 page views monthly, and some of our posts have been picked up in other venues, like the Landscape Architecture website and blog. In the coming days, we will be sharing posts from the past year on our Facebook page and our Twitter feed; please “like” or follow us if you haven’t already, and keep your eyes peeled throughout the week. We also encourage you to subscribe to Edge Effects via the form on right-hand side of this page.

In addition, we invite you to read about (and participate in!) two upcoming CHE events: the Tales from Planet Earth film festival, November 6-8, 2015, and the annual CHE Graduate Student Symposium, March 4-6, 2016. You can find more information on each of those events below. In future posts, we will preview other major events, like CHE’s annual Place-Based Workshop.

Lastly, and most importantly, the Editorial Board wants to thank its readers and authors for making Edge Effects a success. We are excited to bring you more great content in the year to come—look for an adaptation of Robert Frost’s “Stopping By Woods on a Snowy Evening,” a reflection on the 2015 Place-Based Workshop, and a conversation about nature and baseball, among others!—and wish everyone a fine fall season.

Upcoming Events:

Tales from Planet Earth Film Festival

This year, CHE’s biennial environmental film festival focuses on “belief” by exploring five related themes: resilience, sacrifice, retreat, belonging, and knowledge. “Tales from Planet Earth” is truly international in scope, showing films set on six different continents and over 20 countries, and featuring filmmakers, activists, and scholars from around the world. You’ll have the chance to see everything from documentary to opera and a rap film. “Tales” runs from November 6-8, 2015 at locations around Madison.

“E is for Environment” Symposium

For the first time, CHE graduate students are expanding our annual graduate student symposium from a one-day event to a three-day symposium to be held March 4-6, 2016. Graduate student scholars from UW-Madison and from universities across the country are invited to explore new vocabularies for the environmental past, present, and future. The symposium will also feature a keynote lecture, a faculty roundtable, social gatherings, and a field trip. Applications are due October 15!

Featured Image: Devil’s Lake, Baraboo, WI. Photograph by Nathan Jandl.