The Helvidius Group - Journal of Politics & Society
Columbia University's Journal of Politics & Society

The Helvidius Group

Welcome to the online home of the Helvidius Group, publisher of Columbia University's annual undergraduate journal in the social sciences, the Journal of Politics & Society. Since 1989, the Journal has provided a unique forum for young scholars to contribute to the global discussion of a diverse range of issues, including problems of economics, public policy, international relations, and law.

Please use the links to the left to navigate the site. News updates are listed below. Thank you for visiting!



Get a Copy!

May 9, 2008
As of Friday, May 9, the 2008 edition of the Journal of Politics & Society is available in 500 bookstores nationwide, representing all 50 states except for Mississippi. This year, the journal will be available at both Barnes & Noble and Borders bookstores. In order to find the retailer(s) located nearest to you, please input your zip code. The ten closest retailers will be returned, along with the web address of each store and the number of copies initially available. It might be worthwhile to contact a store to make sure the journal is in stock before looking for it on the newsstand.

Enter your ZIP Code:

2008 Edition Online Content

April 25, 2008
A supplement to Tsang, et al., The Choosy Sex: Ideal Mate Selection Criteria Among Urban Chinese Youth, from the 2008 edition of the journal is now available online.

2008 Submissions Received

January 27, 2008
The 2008 Call for Papers has closed. This year, the Helvidius Group received a diverse range of manuscripts from undergraduates at 34 universities in 7 countries. Students interested in submitting papers for the 2009 edition should check back for further details in the fall.

Prospective authors will be notified of the results of the review process within the next two weeks. The print edition of the 2008 Journal of Politics & Society will be released on campus on April 25, 2008. The Journal will go on sale two weeks later. More details are forthcoming.

Website Launch

November 29, 2007
The Helvidius Group announces the official launch of its new website. Please see the submissions section for additional details on the 2008 Call For Papers; manuscripts will be accepted until January 26, 2008. Explore the site to learn more about the history and purpose of the Helvidius Group, as well as read new and updated online content. Though the print edition of the Journal of Politics & Society will always be its crown jewel, the Helvidius Group hopes to expand its online content offerings through this website.

The layout was designed by Evann Smith, CC '07, Co-Managing Editor of the 18th Editorial Board and currently a graduate student at the University of Chicago. Special thanks to Zach van Schouwen, SEAS '08, for programming the backend.

The website is accessible at both helvidius.org and columbia.edu/cu/helvidius

The Helvidius Group welcomes your comments, criticism, and suggestions.

19th Editorial Board Selected

September 28, 2007
After a highly competitive application process, the Executive Board of the Helvidius Group has chosen the 19th Editorial Board.

The Editorial Board, which will serve until May 2008, was selected from among the highest number of applicants in the history of the Helvidius Group. With 25 members, it is also the largest Editorial Board to date.

Students from all undergraduate colleges at Columbia are eligible to apply for positions each September. As in years past, the board's members range from first-years to seniors and bring diverse backgrounds, academic interests, and political beliefs to the table.

To see the full membership of this year's board, please visit the masthead page.

2007 Journal Released

September 15, 2007
2007 Journal of Politics & SocietyThe Helvidius Group is pleased to present the online content of the 2007 Journal of Politics & Society, featuring some of its most talented and accomplished authors to date. The print edition was released at the conference in April. With breadth of focus and depth of analysis, the 2007 Journal covers topics as disparate as narcotics production in the Middle East, sexual harassment and abuse of women in the U.S. military, and the changing state of sovereignty worldwide. The Journal included a guest essay from Wendy Kopp, founder of Teach for America.

Throughout the 2006–2007 academic year, the 18th Editorial Board worked assiduously with selected authors to review and perfect their writing. Together with its 2007 authors, the Helvidius Group has prepared for publication some of the finest undergraduate research being pursued in universities today.

Please enjoy the online version of the Journal as part of the expanded archives, now including downloadable PDFs of the 2002–2007 editions. Full archive editions of the Journal's earlier issues will be available early next year, after the relocation of the Columbiana Archives is completed.

First-in-Nation Distribution Agreement

June 25, 2007
The Helvidius Group proudly announces the commencement of a distribution agreement with Source Interlink, the leading supplier of periodicals to bookstores nationwide. The Journal of Politics & Society has been on sale at more than 350 Barnes & Noble and other major bookstores since May 18, making it the first undergraduate periodical with nationwide commercial distribution.

Click here to download a PDF of the full press release. A condensed version was also featured on the Columbia News website.

Helvidius Group Hosts First Annual Conference

April 23, 2007
Members of the Executive Board display recent editions of the JournalOn Friday, April 20, 2007, the Helvidius Group hosted its first annual academic conference in the Lindsay Rodgers Room of Columbia University's International Affairs Building. The symposium, entitled At the Forefront of Undergraduate Thought: A Conference on the Political and Social Sciences, showcased several of the authors featured in the 2007 edition of the Journal of Politics & Society, as well as guest speakers including Professor Helen Benedict of Columbia's Graduate School of Journalism and Professor Jack Snyder, the Group's academic advisor and the Robert and Renée Belfer Professor of International Relations in the Department of Political Science and Institute of War and Peace Studies. Also marking the release of the 18th edition of the Journal, the conference, open to the entire Columbia community, provided an exciting opportunity for undergraduates to share their scholarship and engage in dialogue with other students and professors.

Focusing on the timely issue of sexual harassment against female soldiers in the U.S. military during wartime, the conference's McVickar Panel featured Jade Lamb, a Yale senior whose essay "Women Warriors" was awarded the McVickar Prize in the 2007 edition of the Journal; Professor Benedict, a novelist and journalist specializing in women's issues, race, and literature; and Jen Hogg, a member of Iraq Veterans Against the War. In a moving presentation, the three speakers spoke about their perspectives on the topic with a specific focus on the 2003 invasion of Iraq and the subsequent occupation. They also discussed possible causes for the trend as well as reasons that wartime sexual harassment is not properly recorded and/or punished.

For more information about the conference, including a video from the sovereignty exchange presentation, click here to read more.

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