One of the more highbrow student publications on campus, Columbia’s Journal of Politics and Society, published by the Helvidius group, is not the average Columbia magazine that you will find strewn on study tables in room 209 of Butler during finals week or hanging lazily on a rack on your way outside of Lerner. Indeed, this publication–which has featured essays by well-known politicians including Bill Clinton, Kofi Annan, Christine Todd Whitman, and former Senator Elizabeth Dole–sells for a hefty price in Barnes and Nobles. What say you, CPR?

Bwog was lucky enough to get its hands on a copy of the Spring 2008 issue of the Journal of Politics and Society prior to its official release this Friday on College Walk (free cupcakes are promised!). A quick read of this 168-page behemoth did not disappoint. With a more intense focus on the “society” aspect of its mission and less of a focus on the “politics” part this time around, the Spring 2008 issue packs a full punch, as its keynote piece includes remarks from Jonathan Fanton, President of the MacArthur Foundation and comments about the current nature of the international justice system by Louise Arbour, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. Other articles of interest include a well-crafted piece on structural violence in Chinese AIDS villages, “ideal mate selection” by Chinese urban youth, and the spread of conspiracy theories in Italy.

The full Spring 2008 JPS will appear on newsstands from May until August and will not be available in PDF form online until the fall. Therefore, Bwog suggests you get a copy by stopping by College Walk on Friday between the hours of 12 and 4.  If you can’t make it then, email Helvidius today at helvidius@columbia.edu and reserve your free (for all Columbia affiliates) copy. Though you can always head to your local Barnes and Noble or Borders over the summer to get your hands on the Journal of Politics & Society, snag a cupcake or two while you’re out enjoying the spring weather this Friday afternoon.