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BACKGROUND

The Journal of Ayn Rand Studies is the first scholarly publication to examine Ayn Rand: her life, her work, her times. Welcoming essays from every discipline -- from literary theory and aesthetics to epistemology, ethics, politics, social theory, and intellectual history -- the journal is not aligned with any advocacy group, institute, or person. It is the first place where people working in different traditions and from different perspectives can respectfully exchange their ideas on the legacy of one of the world's most enduring and controversial thinkers.

The first issue, Fall 1999, includes six new and provocative articles:

Editor Chris Matthew Sciabarra discusses the major historical significance of his discovery and investigation of Ayn Rand's transcript from the University of St. Petersburg. The document was uncovered from the vaults of the Central State Archives of St. Petersburg, and it answers the many mysteries surrounding Rand's college education. (For an introduction to this article, "Investigative Report: In Search of the Rand Transcript," published in the October 1999 issue of Liberty magazine, point your browser to: http://www.nyu.edu/projects/sciabarra/essays/randt1.htm

Editor Stephen Cox examines the shifting perspectives, the ironies and parodies, in Rand's literary celebration of American capitalism. He focuses on how Rand -- the "outsider" -- succeeded in finding new imaginative constructions of the "inside" of American life.

Roger E. Bissell, author of many published essays on philosophy, psychology, and aesthetics, challenges Rand's interpretation of the nature of musical perception, and develops a strong case for the underlying unity of the arts.

Austrian economist Larry J. Sechrest revisits the debate over "minarchy" and "anarchy," arguing that the various Objectivist proposals for limited government fail to offer a convincing rebuttal to the case for anarchy.

Robert L. Campbell, professor of psychology, shows how Rand's theory of knowledge drew explicitly on the ideas and findings of the Cognitive Revolution, the mid-century change in American psychology that overthrew behaviorism.

And philosopher and writer Gregory R. Johnson critiques Rand's ethics and political philosophy, rejecting her argument for classical liberalism, and her conception of human nature.

Information on Subscriptions, a listing of the Editorial Board and the Board of Advisors -- along with abstracts of the articles and contributor biographies -- are all available on the Web site. The Journal of Ayn Rand Studies Web site can be found currently at: http://www.nyu.edu/projects/sciabarra/joars.htm

Consider this posting to be an Official Call for Papers as well -- addressed to all bona fide scholars who are interested in submitting their essays to a rigorous academic review process for publication consideration. (Style sheet is also available on the Web site.)

-- Chris Matthew Sciabarra, Visiting Scholar, NYU Department of Politics (posted 8/30, 1:50 p.m., E.D.T.)

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