A new magazine focusing on California issues and edited by two UC Davis professors launches this month. Boom: A Journal of California is published by UC Press.

The editors are Carolyn de la Peña, professor of American studies and director of the UC Davis Humanities Institute, and Louis Warren, the W. Turrentine Jackson Professor of Western U.S. History. Many of the contributors are also UC Davis faculty.

Read the UC Davis news release.

To mark the occasion of the first issue, UC Davis is hosting a symposium, followed by a reception, on Thursday, March 10. See details below.

The quarterly magazine promises intelligent and insightful reading about life in the Golden State, in formats that include scholarly articles and shorter, informal works, all aiming to create a dialogue about the “vital social, cultural, and political issues of our time, in California and beyond,” according to UC Press.

Titles of the articles in the first issue include “How to Fix a Broken State,” “Race and the California Crisis” and “The Crossroads of Mission Viejo,” among others.

Symposium and reception

The organizers said the symposium, "Beyond Borders: Migration and the Next California," will bring together scholars, writers and community organizers for a conversation about borders, the communities they divide, and the people who cross them.

The symposium is scheduled from 4:10 to 5:30 p.m. at the Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts. The reception is scheduled to run from 5:30 to 7 p.m. at the same place, with people invited to mingle with the Boom team and talk about California, its promises and challenges.

Admission is free to the symposium and reception, with advance registration required, due to limited space. More information.

On the Web

Boom: A Journal of California