Refract and the University of California
Abstract
Refract: An Open Access Visual Studies Journal was established in 2017 to create a space for diverse voices across academic disciplines and institutions. To this end, we, the editorial board (EB), chose to not explicitly associate ourselves with theHistory of Art and Visual Culture Department (HAVC) at the University of Cali-fornia, Santa Cruz (UCSC), or with the University of California (UC) more broadly.This was done in an effort to act autonomously as graduate students, who, as the future of academe, sought to work without the direct input, influence, or affiliationof the larger institution in which we work. Stating that we are autonomous was an ideological position meant to provide us with expanded possibilities for experimentation within both visual studies and the world of academe writ large.