St Anne's Academic Review
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​Spark Reviews

​Spark Reviews are short 1,500 to 3,000-word reviews on any artistic production which the author finds personally and/or culturally significant. Reviews might explore books, poems, plays, films, television series, exhibitions, music, video games, or other forms of creative expression. The stance taken by reviewers may be favourable or unfavourable, or fall somewhere in between.

The purpose of Spark Reviews is to showcase the author's individual writing style and analytical skills. Reviewers are encouraged to write for a general audience and to take a slightly less formal approach to their subject than what is usually required of peer- reviewed academic articles. They may also choose to compare texts or a selection of pieces, structuring their review in whatever style suits them best. 
​

Submitting your proposal

Submissions for Spark Reviews are open to current and former students of St Anne’s College. Proposals can be submitted anytime throughout the year to the Spark Reviews Editor, Brittany Hause, at brittany.hause@st-annes.ox.ac.uk. Individual submissions should not exceed two sentences and must give a clear indication of the themes and work(s) that the author would like to write about. Writers may submit more than one proposal.

Deadlines for Spark Review drafts do not run concurrently with the other sections of STAAR. Normally these deadlines are set for one month after the SR Editor has confirmed the topic and on an individual basis to fit around the author's academic and professional work. 
The final deadline for Spark Review proposals in 2022 is May 31st.


All reviews will be published online, with a small selection also appearing in the 2022 print edition of the journal. Spark Reviews for the 12th issue of STAAR, whether published in print or as online exclusives, will follow APA citation guidelines.
​

Firework Competition

Spark Reviews accepted for publication are automatically entered into the journal’s annual Firework Competition for the chance to win a small cash prize. The winner for 2022 will receive £100 and the runner-up £50.

For 2021, Augusta Nannerini took first place in the Firework Competition with "Bullshit Jobs: A Review." Julia Merican was runner-up with "Cosmopolitan Reveries: Elegy, Epicureanism and Exclusion in Zweig's The World of Yesterday."


​Recently Published

STAAR Volume 11 (2020/21)

Edited by Brittany Hause

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A Tibetan Sojourn with
​The Horse Thief

Divya Godbole
MPhil candidate in Development Studies
Michaelmas 2021
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Football by the Numbers:
​How Liverpool's Data-Based Approach is Changing the Game

Yin-Cong Zhi
DPhil candidate in Machine Learning
​Michaelmas 2021
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Bullshit Jobs: ​A Review

Augusta Nannerini
Alumna, Oxford Department of
​International Development

Michaelmas 2021
Firework Competition 2021 Winner
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Cosmopolitan Reveries: Elegy, Epicureanism, and Exclusion in Zweig's The World of Yesterday

Julia Merican
MSt in English Literature
Michaelmas 2021
Firework Competition 2021 Runner-Up
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Four Seasons: a review of Oxford's Botanic Gardens

Ramani Chandramohan
MSt in Modern Languages
Michaelmas 2021


​STAAR Volume 10 (2019/20)

Edited by Daniel Mercieca

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Sentinels Aloft: An Indifference of Birds Book Review​

Vicki Lee
MSt in English Literature
16 August 2020
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A Socially-Distanced Romeo and Juliet Ballet at Sadler’s Wells

Andreea Scridon
MSt in Creative Writing
21 June 2020
 
Winner of the 2020 Firework Competition
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Because of This, Too, I Loved: A Review of Danez Smith’s homie

Caroline King
MSt in Creative Writing
25 May 2020
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Satire on Steroids in Autumn de Wilde’s Emma​

Elena Porter
Faculty of History
22 March 2020​
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The Hills are Alive with the Sound of Silence: Sound, Silence, and War in Terrence Malick’s A Hidden Life

Joel Casey
Faculty of English
15 March 2020​
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AMALGAM: Theaster Gates, Liverpool, and Monumentality

Siân Round
MSt in English and American Studies
15 March 2020​


​STAAR Volume 9 (2018/19)

Edited by Daniel Mercieca

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Why We Sleep: it is high time we slept deeper in order to dream bigger

Virginia Casablancas Antras
Department of Chemistry
12 October 2019​
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From Barbecues to By-elections: Feeling through the Future in Russell T. Davies’ Years and Years

Michael Bicarregui
MSt in Film Aesthethics
30 August 2019​
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The Language of Power: Luca Guadagnino’s Suspiria (2018)

James Dobbyn
MSt in Creative Writing
10 April 2019​
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The Book of Why, by Judea Pearl & Dana Mackenzie.
A book about how we ask questions and how to ask (and solve) better questions

Adrian Soto-Mota
Department of Physiology, Anatomy and Genetics
19 March 2019​
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‘It is fun to be Queen sometimes’: The competitive sport of winning royal favour

Muhammad Babar Suleman
1st Year practice-led DPhil in Fine Art
27 February 2019
  • Home
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  • Volumes
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