About the Journal

Focus and Scope

The Journal of Contemplative Inquiry (online ISSN 2333-7281) is an online, peer-reviewed, scholarly journal for all who design, research, teach, and assess contemplative and introspective methods and practices in college and university settings.

JOCI promotes the understanding, development, and application of these methods in order to serve a vision of higher education as an opportunity for cultivating personal and social awareness and an exploration of meaning, purpose and values. The development of a critical first-person perspective allows students to examine their own experience in relationship to the material they study, transforming their understanding of how their learning can affect their actions in the world.

In this way, contemplative inquiry is, at its root, about transforming relationships; not just the relationship of a student to the material being studied but, more broadly, our understanding of the interpersonal, intrapersonal, and systemic influences and forces that shape our individual lives and our society.

We invite authors from any discipline, department, or office in academe to submit original, unpublished writing on any aspect of contemplative practices and perspectives in higher education. We are interested in articles concerning all aspects of integration of higher education and contemplative inquiry, including the design, research, teaching, and/or assessment of contemplative and introspective methods and practices in college and university settings. Articles should be suitable for a broad, interdisciplinary audience. 

Update, 9/28/22:

JOCI is in the process of moving from its founding publisher (CMind, The Center for Contemplative Mind in Society) to its new publisher: a partnership between the University of Northern Colorado Libraries and the University of Northern Colorado Center for Applied Contemplative Studies. This transfer is pending the necessary institutional approvals and final approval from the State of Massachusetts Office of the Attorney General.

Due to this transfer process, JOCI is currently on an indefinite pause as we continue to explore the possibilities for relaunching the publication. New submissions are currently paused due to this anticipated delay in our publishing schedule.

Peer Review Process

JOCI operates a blind peer-review process during which the identities of the author and the reviewers are concealed.

Publication History

  • Vol. 1, No. 1: 2014. Published.
  • Vol. 2, No. 1: 2015. Published.
  • Vol. 3, No. 1: 2016. Published. “Contemplative Practices Across the Disciplines”
  • Vol. 4, No. 1: 2017. Published. “Building Just Community”
  • Vol. 5, No. 1: 2018. Published.
  • Vol. 6, No. 1: 2019. Published.
  • Vol. 7, No. 1: 2020. Published.
  • Vol. 8, No. 1: 2021. Published.
  • Vol. 9, No. 1: 2022. Published. Special Issue: "Transcendent Wisdom and Transformative Action: Reflections from Black Contemplatives"
  • Vol. 9, No. 2: 2022. Published.
 

Journal History

The Journal of Contemplative Inquiry was founded in 2013 as an initiative of the Center for Contemplative Mind in Society. From the mid-1990s through 2022, the Center coordinated efforts to explore the integration of contemplative practices and perspectives in the academy, seeking to foster an interdisciplinary forum for exploring rigorous reflection and introspection throughout all of higher education.

In the Summer of 2022, due to the closure of CMind, JOCI began the process of moving to its new publisher: a partnership between the University of Northern Colorado Libraries and the University of Northern Colorado Center for Applied Contemplative Studies. This transfer is pending the necessary institutional approvals and final approval from the State of Massachusetts Office of the Attorney General.