Since its inception in 2017, I have been advising the East Bay Historia, a student publication that showcases history essays accompanied by interpretive illustrations. The essay-illustration collaboration came together when my brother, Josh Funk, Assistant Professor of Digital Media at Chico State, and I wanted to give our students real-life collaborative experiences in editorial illustration and scholarly publishing.
Three key groups, consisting of dozens of students across two campuses, are involved in publishing the East Bay Historia. First, the student authors who are current and former students from Cal State East Bay who submitted their historical essays to be considered for publication. Second, the student artists from Josh Funk’s Digital Illustration class at Chico State who read the essays selected for publication and interpreted them through illustration. Third, the student editorial board from Anna Alexander’s Public History class at Cal State East Bay who selected and copy-edited the essays for publication, designed and marketed the journal, all while researching copyright law and trying to stay within budget. The project ends up being a semester-long immersive experience with rigorous historical and artistic debates. All of this work culminates in a book-length publication that is distributed widely to students, faculty, alumni, and donors.
While the East Bay Historia is a student journal, its review structure mimics professional academic journals to give students a sense of the hard work involved in publishing. In line with academic publishing, every essay submitted for consideration goes through blind peer review where the editorial board gives the authors feedback, requests changes, and decides whether to accept or reject the submission. For many students this is a wake-up call that writing is a process, and oftentimes a paper’s argument will become more dynamic and its prose more eloquent only after several rounds of revision.
By tirelessly working together as a team to create something that reaches beyond the confines of the classroom, they develop skills that help them land rewarding careers. Plus, the bonds they make working on the journal are lasting and have helped connect our current and former students in meaningful and engaging ways.” Digital Media Professor Josh Funk explains, “working for a client and competing for publication is a transformative experience. This opportunity prepares our students for the realistic and exciting creative challenges that await them as professional artists. To succeed, they must find innovative visual solutions through additional research, thumbnail sketches, and critique. If they are successful, their illustration will stop the viewer in their tracks and assist the author's message.”