Abstract

This book reports on the state of academic journal publishing in a range of geolinguistic contexts, including locations where pressures to publish in English have developed more recently than in other parts of the world (e.g. Kazakhstan, Colombia), in addition to contexts that have not been previously explored or well-documented. The three sections push the boundaries of existing research on global publishing, which has mainly focused on how scholars respond to pressures to publish in English, by highlighting research on evaluation policies, journals’ responses in non-Anglophone contexts to pressures for English-medium publishing, and pedagogies for supporting scholars in their publishing efforts.

Mary Jane Curry is an Associate Professor in the Warner Graduate School of Education and Human Development, University of Rochester, USA. Theresa Lillis is a Professor in the School of Languages and Applied Linguistics, The Open University, UK. They are the authors of A Scholar’s Guide to Getting Published in English: Critical Choices and Practical Strategies (Multilingual Matters, 2013) and Academic Writing in a Global Context: The Politics and Practices of Publishing in English (Routledge, 2010).

The co-editors have done an excellent job of editing, organizing, and arranging the four parts [of the book] into logical and cohesive subdivisions. The issues related to the dominance of English as the language of knowledge production is dealt with directly...Curry and Lillis make it clear that there is a conspiracy of factors that have led to this situation and they point how it is being addressed in positive ways. This book should be recommended reading for professors who teach in a graduate program and for their students.

This timely collection sheds light on how publishing policies and practices are shaping global academic knowledge-making. Its impressive geolinguistic reach, with attention to a wide range of contexts and many contributions from beyond the Anglophone centre, brings a richness and nuance that make it a powerful inaugural text for the new Studies in Knowledge Production and Participation series.

This book consistently provides new and valuable insights into the various causes and consequences of the growing dominance of English in research publishing. To the best of my knowledge there are no other publications currently available that do as much or do it as well.

I recommend this book for anyone who is interested in understanding the contemporary world of academic publishing, whether as a writer who is seeking to disseminate knowledge, or as a research educator supporting novice scholars as they navigate the complexities of publication. The pressure to publish high-level research in English is not likely to disappear soon, but it is books like this that push us to recognise the power relations at play in global knowledge production. There is much to look forward to in this new series.