Call for Papers

We are excited to announce a call for papers for our upcoming issue of the Undergraduate Journal of Contemporary Issues & Media. This edition will focus on the pervasive and critical issue of burnout culture in academic and professional settings. We invite undergraduate students from any college/university in any discipline to contribute their research, insights, and perspectives on this important topic.

In modern-day society, individuals are expected to embrace hustle culture and prioritize outcomes for institutions over care for self and others. Toxic American grind culture expects students and employees to exhaust themselves in service of productivity and accomplishment while deprioritizing rest and reflection. Many younger individuals—often identified as Gen Z—are employing self-preservation strategies to resist hustle culture and avoid burnout, yet they often feel bound by expectations of employers, universities, and social norms to be constantly active and productive. Further, persistent myths such as the American Dream, coupled with the comparison-based nature of social media, reward longer hours, less rest, and rampant consumerism where individual value is tied to work and earnings.

Some members of Gen Z—many of whom are current college students—are questioning the value of cultures and systems that lead to burnout. They seek reprieve from hustle culture and value self-care and care for others over the constant grind of capitalist expectations. As a result, they are developing strategies designed to harmonize expectations of self, others, school, and work, even when those around them seem reluctant to question current practices. Younger workers are more likely to identify the need for self-care in order to prioritize mental well being and avoid burnout.

For the upcoming volume of The Undergraduate Journal of Contemporary Issues & Media, we welcome submissions that engage with, question, disrupt, or align with issues of self-care and/or burnout culture. We are interested in a variety of submission types, including traditional academic research, personal narrative, oral history, creative writing, visual/multimodal texts, and more.

Authors might consider topics like the following in scholarly, creative, and/or narrative submissions:

• The institutional, social, cultural, and economic forces that perpetuate burnout culture.
• The definition and experience of burnout in cultures outside the United States.
• How individuals from minoritized or vulnerable groups enact self-care and/or interact with burnout culture.
• The psychological, physical, and social effects of burnout on students.
• Strategies for preventing and managing burnout.
• How self-care (and care for others) intersects with systems of ethics.
• The role of institutions in perpetuating or alleviating burnout culture.
• The helpful and harmful narratives surrounding burnout culture and self-care, including strategies for resisting and/or coping with burnout or engaging in self-care.
• Generational perspectives on burnout and self-care.
• Personal narratives and case studies on experiences with burnout.
• The role of technology (social media, artificial intelligence, etc.) in contributing to and responding to burnout culture.
• Strategies and “better practices” to resist burnout culture.