About
MAI is a new biannual feminist journal established to drive the forefront of feminist research in visual culture, with the first issue due to be released in April 2018. Co-founded by editors-in-chief Dr Anna Backman Rogers and Dr Anna Misiak, the journal pulls from a variety of disciplines with subject areas ranging from film and television, to fashion, to social media.
For a more in depth look at our journal, take a look at our website.
Vision
We are a collective dedicated to bringing feminist research and ideas to the general public, founded on the values of solidarity, compassion and agency. MAI provides a forum outside of traditional academia to allow feminist debate to flourish and grow. Keeping this forum accessible and untouched by publisher influence is paramount – and that is why we’re turning to Kickstarter.
Since opening for submissions, we have been inundated with a great range of pieces for consideration, the list of contents for the first issue is as follows:
- Mariah Larsson: Mai Zetterling
- Paulette Jonguitud: The Funambulist
- Mary McGill: How The Light Gets In
- Anna Backman Rogers: Abandoning Happiness for Life
- Gabriel Maher: In response to Anna Backman Rogers
- Neil Fox: Interview with Hope Dickson Leach
- Jessica Tillings: Blood Rhythms
- Lauren Elkin: Sontag and Roubaud
- Mairead Case: Ladies’ Almanac
- Catherine Grant: Video Essay PERSONA
- Amy McCauley: Women with Erections
- Rebecca Tiernan: Video Bete Noire
- Alva Gotby: Shulamith Firestone
- Sophia Kier-Byfield: Future Feminism
- Tina Krekels: Popular Feminism
- Rachel Tay: St Vincent
- Zsófia Jakab : Björk
- Gloria Dawson: Jeanne Dielman
- Rebecca Harrison: On Brilliance
- Katy Lewis Hood: Indigenous Species
- Ana Maria Sapountzi: The Witch’s Flight
- Rebecca Jones: Monstress/Hybridity
- Jazmine Linklater: A Futurist Manifesto
- Tracy Piper Wright: Photographic Errors
- Hannah Hamad: Digital Violence
- Nia Davies: Collage work
- Prieto Blanco and Akim: Exploring Self-Identification
- Mel Gibson: Let’s Hear it for The Girls
- Oksana Kazmina and Solomiya Moroz: Video The Wedding
The People Behind MAI
We have a strong academic background behind our co-founders and the international board of feminist scholars and creative professionals supporting the project.
Dr Anna Backman Rogers
Dr Anna Backman Rogers is Senior Lecturer in Feminist Philosophy and Visual Culture at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden. She is also the author of American Independent Cinema: Rites of Passage and The Crisis Image (Edinburgh University Press, 2015) and Sofia Coppola: The Politics of Visual Pleasure (forthcoming with Berghahn in 2018).
She is also the co-editor with Laura Mulvey of Feminisms (Amsterdam University Press, 2015) and the co-editor with Boel Ulfsdotter of Female Authorship and the Documentary Image: Theory, Practice and Aesthetics and Female Agency and Documentary Strategies: Subjectivities, Identity, and Activism (both with Edinburgh University Press, 2017).
Dr Anna Misiak
Dr Anna Misiak is Senior Lecturer in Film/MA Film & Television Course Coordinator at Falmouth University, UK. Before coming to Cornwall, she taught in Poland at the American Studies Center at the University of Warsaw and at the Warsaw Higher School of Humanities. She has authored one monograph, Kinematograf kontrolowany (2006) and has contributed her film research to edited collections and peer-reviewed journals.
In 2015, she won the Leverhulme Trust Fellowship to develop her archive documentary study, Women Under Communism. She is currently working on her book on Polish documentary.
Contributing Editors & Collaborators
- Amy McCauley Poet & Writer, UK
- Annie Rudd University of Calgary, Canada
- Aparna Sharma University of California, Los Angeles, USA
- Becca Harrison University of Glasgow, UK
- Boel Ulfsdotter Independent Scholar, Affiliated to University of Gothenburg, Sweden
- Connor Winterton Birmingham City University, UK
- Ellen Kirkpatrick Kingston University, UK
- Felicity Colman Kingston University, UK
- Felicity Gee University of Exeter, UK
- Gabriel Ann Maher Designer, The Netherlands
- Jessica Ford The University of New South Wales, Australia
- Katie Faulkner The Courtauld Institute of Art, UK
- Kim Simard Dawson College, Canada
- Laura Mulvey Birkbeck, University of London, UK
- Lauren Elkin Independent Scholar, Writer & Translator, France/UK
- Leshu Torchin University of St Andrews, UK
- Lisa Åkervall University of Gothenburg, Sweden
- Margherita Sprio University of Westminster, UK
- Michelle Brown De Monfort University, UK
- Neil Fox Falmouth University, UK
- Sabina Stent Independent Scholar, UK
- Sarah Artt Edinburgh Napier University, UK
- Sarah Godfrey University of East Anglia, UK
- Sian Beavers Open University, UK
- Sibongile Mpofu Stellenbosch University, South Africa
- Tanya Horeck Anglia Ruskin University, UK
- Tanya Krzywinska Falmouth University, UK
- Teresa Forde University of Derby, UK
- Tracy Piper-Wright University of Chester, UK
- Valentina Cardo University of Southampton, UK
- Valeria Villegas Lindvall University of Gothenburg, Sweden
- Victoria Ferentinou University of Ioannina, Greece
- Yemisi Akinbobola Birmingham City University, UK
Development Plan
The scope for MAI's development is huge - and we have big plans in the works for its future. The funding we receive from this Kickstarter will be used to maintain our independence and allow us to realise these ambitious goals.
Mobile app
We want to make it as easy as possible to interact with MAI, and we're keen to develop the ways we put our conversation out into the world. Our technical team will be developing an app suitable for iOS and Android, bringing the journal to a new audience.
Breakdown of Costs
The funding raised from this Kickstarter campaign will be entirely used to further the journal’s reach. Our goal of £14,000 is the minimum we need for our first year, however, ideally, we would like to far exceed this and reach £22,500 from this Kickstarter. Any funding made over the minimum budget of £14,000 will be put into the marketing and future development of MAI.
As a rough guide, our funding will be allocated to the following areas:
Rewards
We have a range of rewards available, from a limited print run of the first journal to T-shirts to stickers - take a look at what's up for offer below:
Set of 3 MAI Stickers
Organic Tote Bag
Pick from one of our two tote designs.
T-Shirts & Hoodies
Our high quality T-shirts and hoodies are both ethical and eco-friendly, made from organic materials.
Limited Edition Print Journal
The first issue of MAI in print! The journal will be perfect bound with high quality paper and in full colour. We're doing a limited run of the first issue that you won't be able to get anywhere but our Kickstarter - make sure to check out our early bird deal only available in the first week of the campaign.
Your support is hugely appreciated by the whole team behind MAI. We've been thrilled to have as much interest in the journal as we've had so far, and without your help we would be unable to realise the great vision we have for MAI!
Risks and challenges
We have already received a wealth of excellent submissions and we have a first rate team of editors and collaborators with years of experience, and so there is no risk that we will not be able to produce a high quality first issue.
The primary challenge we’re up against is the all-or-nothing nature of Kickstarter. If we don’t reach our target, then unfortunately we will not receive any of the funds raised. This would have a hugely detrimental effect on our ability to effectively promote MAI and do the journal justice.
Additionally, if we have to look for funding elsewhere, we won't have as much time to dedicate to the journal to get issues out on schedule.
Learn about accountability on KickstarterQuestions about this project? Check out the FAQ
Support
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