About Publius

Publius was established in 2009 to provide a publishing forum exclusive to the Columbia undergraduate community, including Columbia College, Barnard College, and the School of General Studies. Our goal is to create a space for vibrant discussion about the meaning and purpose of our political, social and intellectual communities.

Publishing student research primarily in socio-politics, including the political sciences, political theory, sociology, history, economics, anthropology and philosophy, Publius is released biannually at the close of each semester. The Spring 2011 issue (Vol. 2, No. 3) is now online in addition to our archived issues.

Publius only considers papers submitted by Columbia University undergraduates. The journal is 100% student-run and editorial decisions are made completely independent of the University. This allows Publius to publish innovative and controversial argumentation, and other forms of unconventional wisdom.

Permanent Honorary Essays

We established these permanent essays ("Lefort Essay in Political Thought" and "The Hamilton Essay in Contemporary American Politics") to ensure that future editions of Publius continue to publish papers in political philosophy, and on issues of immediate interest to the American public. The idea is to represent the importance of scholarship to investigate not only the larger questions about the nature of political man, but also the dynamics of the political world we collectively shape. Claude Lefort was a French political philosopher who died in October 2010. His masterful theory of democracy was illuminated by a belief in a free "theater of contestation" to which, we hope, Publius might in some capacity contribute. Hamilton, of Columbia lore, needs no introduction, and it was from his nom de plume in the Federalist that we drew the title of our masthead.

Upcoming Publishing Schedule

Vol. 2, No. 4: Fall 2011 (September 2011)

Submission Deadline June 30, 2011

Vol. 3, No. 5: Spring 2012 (January 2012)

Submission Deadline December 31, 2011

Vol. 3, No. 6: Fall 2012 (September 2012)

Submission Deadline June 3, 2012