Wilkes-Barre, Pa., March 31, 2022—In a strong affirmation of its liberal arts mission and Holy Cross ideals, King’s College has launched the journal Zeal: A Journal for the Liberal Arts. The journal’s name connects with the Holy Cross vision of “transforming minds and hearts with zeal in communities of hope.”
Zeal is an online, open-access journal with the mission of inspiring and fostering scholarship that supports and advances the liberal arts. The journal specializes in publishing interdisciplinary forums, author-meets-critics book discussions, and less conventional "Provocations & Occasions"—articles that, though worthy of a wide readership, are typically misfits with standard disciplinary journals.
“King’s rightly prides itself on excellent teaching, but the College also recognizes that excellent higher education requires intellectually active and engaged faculty,” said Bernard Prusak, Ph.D., Professor of Philosophy, Director of the College’s McGowan Center for Ethics, and the journal’s senior editor.
“Faculty engagement in research, scholarship, and public discourse is part of the lifeblood of a college. Zeal will stimulate intellectual life on campus and beyond, directly serving our faculty and thereby indirectly, but no less importantly, serving our students,” Dr. Prusak added.
Founded in 2007 under the name Expositions: Interdisciplinary Studies in the Humanities, the journal moved to King's College this year, at which point it was renamed and reconceived. Ten King's faculty members currently serve on the editorial board.
“When I think about zeal as an essential attribute of a liberal arts education, I come back to a phrase from the Constitutions of the Congregation of Holy Cross: we assist others not only to recognize their own gifts but also to discover the deepest longings in their lives,” remarked Rev. Thomas P. Looney, C.S.C, Ph.D., president of King’s College.
“Naming this journal Zeal is a great affirmation of the spirit in which our dedicated faculty pursue scholarship and the art of teaching. We research, publish, and teach to assist students to discover and pursue their deepest passions.”
The journal will appear twice annually, with the first issue under the new name scheduled for fall 2022. Those interested in learning more can visit kings.edu/zeal or email Dr. Prusak at bernardprusak@kings.edu.