Limn

Limn outlines contemporary problems. It draws material from networks of experts in the social and human sciences and is intended to be timely, diverse in perspective, authoritative, well written and beautifully designed. The focus is on contemporary problems in our global, politically interconnected, technologically intense culture: problems of infrastructure, ecological vulnerability, economic interdependence, and relentless technological invention A core goal of Limn is to provide genealogical framings that upset the often polarized, stale or static narratives offered in the media or public discussion. Contributors are chosen in light of these issues and because they can provide authoritative and unexpected insight into a problem more quickly and more accessibly than is possible through the current system of academic publishing.

Limn is somewhere between a scholarly journal and an art magazine. It is an attempt to communicate and display ongoing scholarly research. Central to our vision is a process that differs from both scholarly and popular publications. Limn has three executive editors, but each issue is organized, debated and designed by an editorial team. That team is expected to actively explore the topic of the issue, pose it as a conceptual problem, not just a theme, and determine the most appropriate contributors. Contributions are reviewed and carefully edited by the editorial team, as well as shared amongst the contributors in order to promote collective work on the concept and the issue.

Limn responds to problems with a visible public life. Limn appears as necessary and in response to shifting contemporary debates. There is no “call for contributions”—rather, the concept proposed by a team of editors should implicate a specific set of researchers, from multiple disciplines and including practitioners, however defined. Contributions should be concise, represent ongoing research, and be written for a general academic audience.

Limn is serious about both scholarship and design. Contributions to Limn are held to high standards by the editors, who challenge contributors to improve the work, bring it into conversation with other contributors, and find images, objects and other artifacts related to the topic. The design of Limn is integral to the scholarship, with a focus on communicating concepts and problems through images or design elements and a commitment to the creation of a more accessible and engaging medium. Limn exists both as an online site (open access and open to experiments in media) and in print—because it looks awesome in your hands.

Limn is open access. All content on this website is freely available under a Creative Commons 3.0 Share-Alike License. If it wasn’t obvious, we also sell beautifully designed print versions of the magazine. Just because Limn is free (as in speech) doesn’t mean you should deprive yourself of a beautiful object.