What We Publish
Two categories of manuscript — and the kinds of question we most like to read.
NOUS Review invites submissions from students in Grades 9–12 worldwide. We publish English-language humanities essays and criticism in literature, philosophy, film, art, media, culture, political thought, and related fields. We welcome work that asks a real question, builds an argument from evidence, and shows independent judgment.
Research Essays
A research essay poses a question in the humanities and argues for an answer with scholarly seriousness. The Review publishes work across literature, aesthetics, cultural studies, media studies, intellectual history, comparative humanities, rhetoric, art history, and political thought.
Interdisciplinary work is particularly welcome.
Research & ArgumentReviews and Critiques
Analytical reviews of a book, film, exhibition, artwork, or public idea. Such submissions must be analytical: we are looking for criticism, not personal reaction.
Criticism & ReviewIllustrative Topics — Research Essays
Examples, not prescriptionsHow does algorithmic recommendation reshape self-understanding? Reading the filter bubble through Charles Taylor’s concept of authenticity.
The emotionally restrained narrator of Never Let Me Go: how does unreliable narration shape a reader’s judgment of an ethical dilemma?
The aesthetics of ruin photography: from the Romantic sublime to post-industrial traumatic memory.
Is free will an illusion? From neuroscientific experiment to the existentialist account of choice.
Illustrative Topics — Reviews & Critiques
Analytical, not reactiveBeneath Barbie’s pink surface: feminism, or consumerism?
The spread of “family of origin” discourse: the popularization of psychology, or a large-scale shift in how moral responsibility is assigned?
Have a topic that doesn’t fit neatly into a category? Send us a query — we’re happy to read work that crosses disciplines.
Not a fit for The Review
We do not publish fiction, poetry, drama, personal essays, journalistic commentary, purely descriptive reports, laboratory science reports, or coursework submitted substantially as written for class.