constellations journal

ALT A colorful postcard advertising a new article. The title and author of the article are listed along with a quote: Negotiating for Space: Pushing Boundaries and Settling in New Spaces by Mariam Mohammed. “I realized that navigating new academic and cultural landscapes as an international student often means confronting vulnerabilities that challenge both personal and academic boundaries. For me, pushing boundaries goes beyond leaving my comfort zone: it connects to how much I am willing to learn, unlearn, and relearn about myself.” There is a photo of Mariam in graduation attire, smiling at the camera surrounded by academic achievements.

ALT A colorful postcard advertising a new Substack post. The title and author of the post are listed alongside a quote: Teetering ‘To Do’ Lists and Restful Summers by Megan Simmermeyer. “Summer stretches before me, though it will no doubt slip through my fingers quicker than I imagine. Still, I reach for the moments where I connect with friends and my sprawling, extended family. We craft; we visit parks, build community, and strengthen existing connections.” There is a photo of Megan and many friends and family members, gathered to celebrate her 30th birthday.

ALT A colorful postcard that says, “Celebrating Pride!” The title and author of a book review are listed, along with a quote: “Creating Home through Narrative: A Review of V. Jo Hsu’s Constellating Home: Trans and Queer Asian American Rhetorics by Megan Simmermeyer. ‘In their book, Hsu examines three distinct, yet interconnected projects that center around stories: the Dragon Fruit Project, the Visibility Project, and the Queer Ancestors Project…Across these chapters, Hsu focuses on themes of love, resilience, and ancestry.’” The cover of the book is featured, with the title in white thin font over a dark background. There are shimmering stars across the cover.

ALT A colorful postcard that says, “Celebrating Pride!” The title and author of a book review are featured: Send My Love to the Family: A Review of Glasby, Gradin, and Ryerson’s Storytelling in Queer Appalachia: Imagining and Writing the Unspeakable Other by Vee Lawson. There is also a quote featured that reads: “This collection of eleven essays looks through singular narratives of a homogenous Appalachia—white, cisgendered or heteronormative, solely masculine, repressive, or backwards—to see many experiences of Appalachian queer identity, engaging narratives of exile, return, and liminality as the writers demonstrate that Appalachia itself is ‘a little bit quare.'” The cover of the book is featured, a rainbow background with the title in black text over a white text bubble.

ALT A colorful postcard that says, “Celebrating Pride!” The title and contributors of a conversation are featured: Recovering What’s “Swept Under the Rug”: Embodied Academic Experiences as Cultural Rhetorics. With Jo Hsu, Alexandria Lockett, Sophia Angela Maier, and Bernice Olivas. Moderated by Alex Jennings and Ada Hubrig. There is also a quote featured that reads: “While academia often downplays material conditions and the very real, lived, embodied experiences, we envision a cultural rhetorics that embraces embodiment as a methodology, drawing on embodied knowledge to recover the very stories that powerful institutions—including academic institutions—sweep under the rug.” There is a photo of a person with long purple hair, wrapped in a trans flag, and standing amongst a protest crowd.

ALT Giving Voice and Listening to the Asylee: A Review of Mónica Reyes’s Rhetoric and Storytelling within the U.S. Asylum Process: Shelter Rhetorics By Tomas Maldonado. “Relying on what she identifies as ‘shelter rhetorics’—idiosyncratic, everyday rhetorical practices that protect people’s vulnerabilities while also giving them agency in unstable situations—as presented in audio-recorded interviews, resident drawings, and photos, Reyes conducts a thorough case study of what asylees endure through the asylum process.” The book cover is featured, a pink and purple background with the title over a white text box.

ALT A colorful postcard that says, “Celebrating Pride!” The title and author of a book are listed along with a description: Mapping Multi-Genre Literary Frameworks for Trans* Studies: Without Permanence By Jesse Jack. “Mapping Multi-Genre Literary Frameworks for Trans* Studies: Without Permanence examines the socio-political contexts that have necessitated new, twenty-first century methods in transgender (trans*) counter-storytelling, such as: archival constraints, medical rubrics, policy decisions, and surveillance. The author’s cross-disciplinary approach to literary analysis critiques narratives of gender permanence to reveal the fungible possibilities of subjective and structural ambiguity.” The book cover is featured, a purple and blue watercolor of a naked body with long purple hair and pink flowers.

ALT A colorful postcard advertising a new book review. The title and author of the review are listed, along with a quote: Walking Toward Meaning: A Review of Melissa Kagen’s Wandering Games By Tommie Leigh McPhetridge. “Wandering Games would be particularly useful for those trying to understand how video games can act as vessels of critical discourses and often engage in theoretical understandings of the world, both fictional and real.” The book cover is featured, with the title in black letters over a photo of mountains.

ALT A colorful postcard that says, “Celebrating Pride!” The title and authors of an article are listed along with a quote: “The Dirt Under My Mom’s Fingernails”: Queer Retellings and Migrant Sensualities. An Article by Alejandra I. Ramírez and Ruben Zecena. “The dirt under her fingernails, the traces of caring for the land, is the metaphor that guides our essay as we retell the memories we have of our migrant mothers, their care, their labor/s, and their fight, as well as the gendered criminalization of migrants in the U.S.” There is a photo of a family posing for a photo on a dock, a mother and several children.

ALT A colorful postcard advertising a new conversation. The title and contributors of the article are listed, along with a photo: “‘Restoration and Connection: Where Rhetoric Meets Art.’ With Alexandra Hidalgo, Ben Lauren, and Luhui Whitebear. Moderated by Catheryn Jennings and Megan Simmermeyer.” There is a photo of a multimedia art piece, featuring handprints and text.

ALT A colorful postcard that says “May 2025. Celebrating Mothers!” The title and author of an article are listed, along with a photo and quote: “‘Dear Spoonie Mom:’ Digital Open Letters as Counter Narratives for Chronically Ill Mothers. An Article by Cristina De León-Menjivar. ‘While a number of the writers in this study eventually do attempt to rhetorically balance their realities with illness and their roles as mothers, nearly all of the posts initially tackle the cultural discourse surrounding motherhood, illustrating how it has oppressed and marginalized them in their most personal and private moments.’ There is an image of author Cristina with her young daughter smiling at the camera.

ALT A colorful postcard advertising a new Substack post. The title and author of the post are listed alongside a quote: “One Pitt Graduate's Dreams In an Impossible World” by Natalie Cohen. “I hope that, by spending these next few months applying to work for projects—from indie presses to literary nonprofits in my community and beyond—that value and uplift marginalized voices, like constellations, I can be the change I want to see—I can create possibility in an impossible world.” There is a photo of the Pitt graduation stage.

ALT A colorful postcard that says “May 2025. Celebrating Mothers!” The title and author of a book review are listed, along with the book cover and quote: “‘Who is Worthy of Childhood?’: A Review of Wendy Hesford’s Violent Exceptions: Children’s Human Rights and Humanitarian Rhetorics. A book review by Joselyne Tellez-Cardenas. ‘In Violent Exceptions: Children’s Human Rights and Humanitarian Rhetorics, Hesford identifies and examines various international children’s humanitarian cases, in order to inspect how visual and political rhetorics are employed to mark children as “exceptional,” a process that has violent repercussions for those not considered worthy of exceptionalism.’” The book cover features a blue and black patterned background with the title in white font. A drawing of pair of children’s shoes are in the foreground.

ALT A colorful postcard advertising a new book review. The title and author of the review are listed, along with a quote: Seeking Refuge through Decolonial Counterstories: A Review of Cruz Medina’s Sanctuary: Exclusion, Violence, and Indigenous Migrants in the East Bay. By Kyle Boggs. “Medina’s own background and experiences working with Indigenous migrants, which he details in his forward and throughout, provide a rich, humanized perspective on issues that are often discussed in abstract or policy-driven terms.” The book cover is featured, a blue background with the silhouette of bird sitting on barbed wire.

ALT A colorful postcard that says “May 2025. Celebrating Mothers!” The title and author of a book review are listed, along with the book cover and quote: “‘Building a Better Future for Mothers: A Review of Jessica Clements and Kari Nixon’s Optimal Motherhood and Other Lies Facebook Told Us: Assembling Networked Ethos of Contemporary Maternity Advice”’ a book review by Alexandria Hanson. ‘’Throughout Optimal Motherhood, Clements and Nixon intertwine their parenting experiences with rhetorical analyses of digital media and multimethod research. Their research considers the experiences of mothers and alcohol consumption, labor and delivery, postpartum medical diagnoses, breast and bottle feeding, infant sleep, and interpreting at-home pregnancy tests.’ The book cover is a light blue background with white text displaying the title.

ALT A colorful postcard that says “May 2025. Celebrating Mothers!” The title and author of an article are listed, along with a photo and quote: “‘Constellating with our Foremothers: Stories of Mothers Making Space in Rhetoric and Composition’ an article by Ruth Osorio. ‘Mothers have been present in the academy for decades, making space for themselves and for the rest of us through their embodied presence, mentorship, and overt activism. Despite the presence of mothers in these earlier decades, mothers were largely instructed to keep their identities as mothers apart from their identities as scholars.’ There is a photo with a mother and newborn baby in a hospital bed.

ALT A colorful postcard advertising a new conversation. The title and contributors of the article are listed, along with a photo: “‘Deep Feelings and Intentional Communities: Honoring Patricia Sullivan’s Legacy.’ With Jenny Bay, Huiling Ding, Tarez Graban, Emily Legg, and Laurie A. Pinkert. Moderated by Alexandra Hidalgo.” There is a photo of Pat Sullivan “holding court” with Jeff Grabill, Alexandra Hidalgo, Michelle Simmons, and Bill Hart-Davidson at the 2017 CCCC Purdue Party.

ALT A postcard celebrating Arab American heritage month. The title and author of an article are listed: “’Never Forget: Ground Zero, Park51, and Constitutive Rhetorics.’ An Article by Tamara Isaak.” There is a quote featured: “The Park51 uproar had a ripple effect on Muslim communities throughout America with reports of arson, vandalism, and violence at mosques. The shutdown of Park51 was another reminder that the constitutional right to practice religion freely and build houses of worship does not apply to Muslims.” There is a photo of NYPD Muslim Chaplain Khalid Latif in uniform wearing a kufi to cover his head.