About aspeers

is the first and currently only graduate journal for American Studies in Europe. Embedded into the American Studies Leipzig MA Program, its first issue became available online and in print in April 2008.

appears annually with a call for papers issued in the summer and the submission deadline in the fall. Individual volumes are available in print through our online store, and online on this webpage.

All academic contributions are published under a creative commons (CC-by) license.

Why Print?

Academic publishing, it seems, tends to go from analog to digital in recent years. Why have we decided that should be available in print? There are five major reasons that have prompted us to take this step:

  • Printed copies give young scholars a chance to present their works to others. If you are published in , you can actually give a copy of your work to other people when you meet them—at a conference, after a lecture, or by mail.
  • is a hybrid journal, meaning that it is available in print and online. Some content may even be available online only.
  • Hybrid journals give their contributors a better citation rate. We hope that this will prove true for as well.
  • The project is part of the professional skills development at American Studies Leipzig's MA Program, and preparing a paper journal encompasses a wider range of skills for participants to practice.
  • It's just more exciting to see your own work on paper :) - and it is just more fun to make a print journal.

In addition to that, it seems that there currently exists a broad continuum of more or less formal online platforms for various kinds of exchange among students. Being available in print underscores 's exceptional position as a peer-reviewed journal of outstanding work.