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Erasmus Student Journal of Philosophy
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Our Team
Our team usually consists of approximately 10 editors and 4 lead editors. Editors work in groups and are usually assigned to at least two papers. Without knowing who the author is, they go through three rounds of providing feedback. Lead editors are those that are primarily in charge of organizing the feedback rounds for one paper and they change every edition. The ESJP also needs one editor to be in charge of all operations, the Editor-in-Chief, and one Secretary.
Editor-in-chief
Georgina Aránzazu Dijkstra
What does working at ESJP mean to you?
Being a part of the ESJP is an good opportunity to work together alongside motivated and inspiring students, as well as finding a free space for your own intellectual curiosity to flourish. It is both exceptionally meaningful, and fun!
What’s your editing philosophy?
As an editor, you try to immerse yourself within the complex philosophical ideas of the author in order to first understand them. Once this has been accomplished, your role is to make these ideas come across as clear and understandable as possible. This is where my editing philosophy comes into play: you want to ensure the ideas of the author are expressed as clearly as possible, because you want readers to enjoy them as much as you did. This way, you honor both author and reader.
How would you convince a friend to join ESJP?
Working for the ESJP is wonderful for a variety of different reasons. It teaches you how the publication process works, what defines a high quality philosophical paper, and exposes you to new ideas you wouldn’t probably have considered within your normal studies. Apart from the intellectual aspect, it is an incredibly enjoyable social environment as well. You work in a team full of interesting students who share your passion, and at the end of the day and every publication, you feel as if you have contributed something meaningful to the field of philosophy we all care so deeply about.
Secretary
Caspar Smink
What does working at the ESJP mean for you?
For me it means being able to work together in a team of motivated students who all like to contribute to the project that is the Erasmus Student Journal of Philosophy. It also means that I am able to read wonderful and intellectually challenging work about a large variety of subjects from students with many different backgrounds and motivations. This whilst also improving my own reading, writing and editing skills.
What's your editing philosophy?
For me this comes down to respecting the text by opening myself up to the ideas and or arguments that are put forth by the author. I want to understand to the best of my abilities what someone is trying so say before thinking about any changes to the text or judgements about its ideas. There is always a reason for a text’s composition and so I want to think together with the author during the editing process and try and understand why the original text was written the way it was. Ownership of the text, of course, belongs to the author. I would like to help make it into the best version possible.
How would you convince a friend to join the ESJP?
I would recommend any friend that is interested in a broad range of philosophical subjects, is affectionate towards reading & writing and is curious about the editing process to join the ESJP. It is a way to learn, meet new people and work in an intellectual environment. Something I hope would encourage those that are like minded.
Our editors
Jeroen de Vries
What does working at ESJP mean to you?
Working at the ESJP is a great way to become more engaged with philosophical matters and debates, as well as getting to know many enthusiastic, ambitious, and philosophically inclined people. Together, this boils down to a lot of contact with a lot of very fun people, about matters that are already fascinating in themselves.
What’s your editing philosophy?
“It is hardly conceivable that mutual understanding and further progress are possible without an accurate localisation of the sources of differences in opinion” (Tinbergen, 1936).
Writing is difficult; writing to be understood by others even more so. However, being able to express oneself clearly and specifically is the best approach to getting one’s point across. More importantly, it is the most effective and genuine way to have one’s ideas considered, criticized, and improved upon by others.
How would you convince a friend to join ESJP?
I would emphasize the scholarly benefits that come with editing for the ESJP: not only does it offer valuable lessons about both constructive reading and constructive writing, but it also gives insight into the ins and outs of the publishing process itself, which can be tremendously helpful when trying to have one’s own work published.
Lara Rose Eikamp
What does working at ESJP mean to you?
I love reading complicated texts and originally fell in love with the editing process while writing fiction. The ESJP however gives me the opportunity to work with academic texts, which is different but still exciting!
What’s your editing philosophy?
I like to meet the author where they’re at. Finding the compromise between the author’s vision and what potential readers will be able to enjoy can be a fascinating adventure. I’d like to think that good communication, a structured approach, and a sprinkling of author autonomy make for a good editing process.
How would you convince a friend to join ESJP?
I suppose I would ask them whether they are in need of a challenge. Perhaps they’ve been feeling like they’re just going through the motions when reading their academic literature recently.
Being responsible for the editing of a paper helps approach each paper with fresh eyes.
Editors
Sonia Shvets
What does working at ESJP mean to you?
Working at ESJP has been an incredible way of widening my philosophical knowledge. Reading the submitted papers, editing them, you inevitably get acquainted with authors you have either never hear of or barely have been familiar with.
It has also been a pleasure to work with my peers and become friends with people I would have not met otherwise.
What’s your editing philosophy?
I find it important to always help an author find the balance between keeping their text to the point, and not making it too dense at the same time. It is difficult to keep readability in mind when you’re writing an academic essay, so I always try to think as a reader during the editing process. It is, of course, tremendously important to not hijack the author’s voice in the process and treat their unique writing style with great care.
How would you convince a friend to join ESJP?
I’d just honestly tell them that this is an opportunity like no other! It’s difficult to get an entry experience into editing academic papers, and ESJP can offer you just that, which is invaluable.
Roan van der Laars
What does working at the ESJP mean for you?
I really see it as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to be directly involved in the editorial process of a very qualitative journal. Working together with like-minded, and highly motivated people to contribute to the discipline we love is a very meaningful experience, which also brings a lot of benefits when it comes to academic skills and personal intellectual development.
What’s your editing philosophy?
I think my principal focus is to make the text as accessible as possible, preferably without removing any of the depth or originality that the author brought to the table. Academic philosophical discourse tends to over-complicate itself, which consequently limits its reach and impact to the academic world alone. I do not think this needs to be the case. I believe that very difficult concepts and ideas can be communicated in text in a clear and accessible way. Helping the author to find this way should be the primary goal of the editing process.
How would you convince a friend to join the ESJP?
I would say that if you are looking for an opportunity to improve your skill of reading, interpreting, and improving on difficult philosophical texts, and if you want to learn how the editorial process works by directly seeing and experiencing the inner workings of a journal, then this is a chance you should not let slip by.
Arwen Vonck
What does working at ESJP mean to you?
Working at ESJP is a very valuable experience that allows me to engage with philosophical literature in an entirely new way. Not only is it very inspiring to be able to read the works of my fellow students, as an editor I also have the opportunity to help elevate their texts to an even higher level. It is a very rewarding experience to help an author publish a text they are truly proud of.
What’s your editing philosophy?
What is important to me when editing is to work together with the author in an interactive interplay, because editing is not a top-down process. Therefore, I believe that it is important to converse with the author and to help them formulate their ideas in a clear and engaging manner, so that their text can reach the audience it deserves.
How would you convince a friend to join ESJP?
Although editing texts can be challenging at times, it is a very valuable experience to become familiar with the process of editing in such a friendly environment. I also find that learning to look at a text through the eyes of an editor helps improve your own writing skills. All in all, working at ESJP is a very fun and fulfilling experience that I would recommend to all my fellow students who have an affinity with writing.
Cassandra Kamberi
What does working at ESJP mean to you?
The more I learn about philosophy, the more intrigued I am to find out more. Therefore, being part of a group of passionate students sharing bright ideas gives me the opportunity to both learn and challenge my own beliefs and way of thinking.
What’s your editing philosophy?
I’ve realized that without written pieces of work, philosophy would not exist as we know it. Writing is a way of communicating complicated and deep ideas that can live on forever. What fascinates me even more is that a script can be transformed if one puts the time and effort to truly grasp the ideas behind it and get into the perspective of the reader. As still a young editor, I have a lot to learn about this discipline, however, from my perspective, two of the most important aspects of editing are to make the reader understand how arguments follow from each other and make them feel something – intrigued, challenged, inspired, and so on.
How would you convince a friend to join ESJP?
I believe ESJP is a great place for anyone curious about different philosophical topics, and writing. For me, these two areas happen to be two of my biggest passions and thus I believe combining them can help me learn so much and expand my horizons! In addition, I’m a big fan of “You become more of who you spend time with most”, and therefore, if one wants to learn more about philosophy, writing, and editing, what a better place to do this than surrounded by people who have been mastering these exact same skills?
Jasper Peters
What does working at ESJP mean for you?
Working at ESJP provides the unique opportunity to not only engage with fresh and exciting philosophical ideas, it also allows for our own contribution to these ideas. It means that I can broaden my own knowledge and skills in both philosophy and writing, inspired by my peers, and hopefully give some of my own inspiration in return.
What's your editing philosophy?
The editing process, to me, is one of complete engagement with the author and their text. In essence I think the goal is, in some way, to make an attempt to understand the text even better than the author themselves, if ever possible. Followingly the task of the editor can perhaps best be described as translator. The philosophy that I like to apply is then one where the editor, to their best capacity, translates the complex and interesting ideas of the author into a comprehensible and enjoyable story for the reader.
How would you convince a friend to join the ESJP?
For anyone interested in philosophy, editing, writing, or reading, the ESJP is the perfect starting ground to further indulge yourself. It is a space where you can build any of those interests up within an established academic context. If, in addition, you like to challenge both yourself and others, no further convincing should be necessary.
Menno Lenting
What does working at ESJP mean to you?
The main reason I’ve joined ESJP is to get acquainted with what it means to work within an academic environment. Besides that I think it’s important for philosophy students to really delve deep into texts and discuss them thoroughly with others and ESJP in my opinion is the perfect place to do so.
What’s your editing philosophy?
My editing philosophy is clear and simple, for me, a good philosophical text should articulate something new, for as Stanley Cavell put it: “There is no philosophy unless it is discovered.”
How would you convince a friend to join ESJP?
For anyone who likes to engage with complex texts, thoughts and wants to be inspired by them within a vibrant team of nice people, I would highly recommend them to join ESJP!
David Holroyd
What does working at ESJP mean for you?
My work as an editor is a great opportunity to engage with the best philosophical ideas of my fellow students here at Erasmus. Aside from developing my own editorial skills and breadth of philosophical knowledge, I get to work with a friendly group of fellow students interested in philosophy.
What's your editing philosophy?
Clarity. A writer’s responsibility is to know their audience and present their ideas and concepts in an accessible manner. My role as editor is to support our authors in finding the best way to present their work clearly. An argument is only worth making if it can be persuasive, and that first requires it to be understood.
How would you convince a friend to join the ESJP?
I’d tell them that the ESJP is a great opportunity to gain insight into the academic publishing process and meet other students here in Rotterdam interested in philosophy. With publications twice a year, the workload is very manageable too! Ultimately, however, they can’t form a fair judgement for themselves until they’ve actually signed up – so why not give it a try!
Noor de Smit
What does working at ESJP mean for you?
Reading texts written long ago by people that are now dead is interesting, but philosophy is ultimately a living process. By helping others getting their pieces ready for publication, I can contribute to the dialogue that is going on right now. As an extra, it is very nice to read diverse texts that reflect the broad set of interests of other students.
What's your editing philosophy?
I think almost everyone doing philosophy holds some ideas that they consider to be inspiring, motivating, perhaps even defining for them as a person. A text needs to somehow get that across to the readers, without compromising on formal aspects (readability, quality of philosophical thought etc.) Editing needs to be careful both towards the author as well as the reading audience.
How would you convince a friend to join the ESJP?
It is incredibly valuable to see what makes a text work and what doesn’t from the perspective of others. Besides just learning about this for your own goals and reasons, you are also helping others refine their own work.
thinking.
INTERVIEW EDITOR
Atal Katawazi
What’s your interviewing philosophy?
It depends, what do you think makes a good interview?
How would you convince a staff member to join you for an ESJP interview?
Knowing philosophers, and their love of monologues, I doubt any of them would need convincing...