"I look forward to reading each issue. The articles are timely and span the spectrum of interdisciplinary areas of Catholic Studies.” With these words of praise, Archbishop Celestino Migliore, J.C.D., Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the United Nations, recently congratulated Logos. Now in its 10th year, Logos: A Journal of Catholic Thought and Culture is an international quarterly published by the Center for Catholic Studies.
In spring 1997 Logos emerged as a vehicle to address the mission of Catholic Studies. According to the center’s director, Dr. Don Briel, “We noted that there really were not any journals of the kind that had once flourished in Catholic circles, those that explored in a fully interdisciplinary way the rich depth of the Catholic intellectual tradition.” Logos was created to contribute to that effort. Each issue presents articles that explore a wide variety of cultural, social and intellectual issues through which the ancient and ongoing dialogue between Catholic faith and culture continues. Highlights from previous issues include:
- Prudence Allen, R.S.M., “Man-Woman Complementarity: The Catholic Inspiration”
- Francis Cardinal Arinze, “The Church and Interreligious Dialogue”
- Jeremy Driscoll, O.S.B., “ ‘Inheritor’: A Poem by Czeslaw Milosz”
- Jean Bethke Elshtain, “Work and Its Meanings”
- Michael P. Foley, “Plato, Christianity, and the Cinematic Craft of Andrew Niccol”
- Peter E. Hodgson, “Galileo the Theologian”
- George Weigel, “The Church’s Social Doctrine in the Twenty-First Century”
In addition to offering a rich selection of scholarly work, Logos strives to present it in a beautiful way. The cover art ranges from baroque art to impressionism, from the Renaissance to abstract expressionism. Logos has brought to its readers artistic works from as far away as the Church of the Holy Cross in Beyog? lu, Istanbul, to as near as Sitzmann Hall, the home of the Center for Catholic Studies on the UST campus.
With subscribers from all over the world, Logos continues to expand its readership not only to academics but to all who are interested in exploring the arts, public policy, philosophy, theology, the sciences and the professions through the lens of Catholicism; furthermore, Logos has strengthened its revenue base and relationship with libraries through its partnership with Project Muse, a joint project of the Johns Hopkins University Press and the Milton S. Eisenhower Library at Johns Hopkins University. Project Muse is a unique collaboration between academic libraries and publishers providing 100 percent full-text, affordable and user-friendly online access to over 300 high-quality humanities, arts, and social sciences journals from 60 scholarly publishers. Logos’ revenues from Project Muse have increased each year by about 20 to 30 percent.
But the real testament to the success of Logos comes from readers’ comments. In addition to Archbishop Migliore, Logos regularly receives praise from its enthusiastic subscribers. Perhaps Stratford Caldecott, editor of Second Spring, the International Journal of Faith and Culture from Oxford, England, put it most concisely: “In a world filled with things to read, Logos stands out. It is one of the most elegant, intelligent and accessible journals of faith and culture you could hope to find.”
