URN:NBN: i: s -oa67833
DOI: 10.11143/ ennia.67833
Six sideways e lec ions on academic publishing
To examine he wo ld is o e eal di e gences, a ange o po en ial poli ies, socie ies, and spaces,
o he o he con en ional de ined space o he esea ch pape on he page. Ye i is possible o push
a he edges o a esea ch pape , and kick back agains he s anda diza ion o schola ship. Fo a ie y
and a b ead h o schola ship is a symbolic and impo an cha ac e is ic o geog aphy as a discipline.
A p esen agedy o publishing in he academic wo ld is ha , as in e na ional schola s, we a e all
inc easingly p essu ed o p oduce esea ch pape s ha mee ce ain ex e nally imposed s anda ds.
This moni o ing o academia h ough co po a e/capi alis amewo ks, can lead o he publishing o
‘sa e pieces’, in place o ex s ha mo e disciplina y deba es adically o wa d.
The Re lec ions sec ion o his jou nal was se up wi h his exac issue in mind. In o de o p oduce
li ely, c i ical, in en i e in e jec ions on cu en socie al issues, and o open-ou wha is conside ed
geog aphical endea o h ough c ea i e p ac ice, and in essence, o sub e he esea ch pape i sel .
I is dedica ed o publishing Re lec ions on issues ele an o, and in, con empo a y geog aphies,
o e ing a space o empi ically g ounded as well as heo e ically in o med esea ch. Pushing a he
ma gins o he discipline is i s aim, and i s e olu iona y agenda is o a gue ha he adi ional c a o
essay w i ing pe haps needs o be e u ned o he o e on o academia; essays ha ake a walk
beyond he no m, o he o he s anda dized esea ch pape o ma o p esen (Fo sdick 2005).
I seems ha nowadays mo e egula ly, a he han w i ing wha we wan o w i e as schola s we
a e ins ead – h ough an inc easingly c ude quan i a i e measu emen – w i ing wha we hink we
ha e o w i e. Ye , we sugges he e, ha esea ch pape s which sub e he adi ional way-o -doing-
hings, ha e p ecisely he po en ial o become polemic, discipline changing, impac ul pieces. One o
he agedies ela ed o pee e iewed esea ch pape s is ha , a e publica ion, we may be le wi h
a sense ha ou wo k has in some way been highjacked and ampe ed wi h, and he inished a icle
does no accu a ely e lec wha we wan ed o say. Re ision ounds, se ing mul iple pu poses, can
lead o a dilu ed e sion o he issue wi h which we sough o engage. Fu he mo e, as we look a ound
he publishing landscape – as au ho s, edi o s, and e iewe s – uneasy eelings a ise, abou enabling
a na owing, a cleansing, a s eamlining o ou esea ch in p in o i he cu en co po a e/capi alis
agenda. In ou iew, his de alues much o he labo ha goes in o he esea ch pape i sel , be o e
and beyond i s p ocessing in a jou nal, he ime ha goes in o he ga he ing o da a and analysis, and
he placing o each wo d, each sen ence, and each pa ag aph on he page.
These con adic ions loom la ge , and can be con ex ualized wi h e e ence o a longs anding and
e e g owing body o li e a u e on neo-libe aliza ion wi hin academia, and as such, academic
publishing (Cas ee & Spa ke 2000; Dowling 2008; Moun z e al. 2015). E e mo e assessmen s and
c i e ia, models and o mula a e c ea ing a widening disconnec ion be ween uni e si y managemen
and academic s a , and a e indeed educing he quali y o academic esea ch, p e en ing c i ical
in e oga ions, c i ical hough and pedagogy, o ea o no i ing in o his na ow model (G ay
2003). A esea ch pape will no ha e impac , we wo y, i i does no i nea ly in o o is no sui able
o amewo k assessmen s. These assessmen s, as such, seek o dema ca e wha geog aphy is, wha
is geog aphical, wha is co ec o sui able geog aphy. Thus, i is i al o c i ically in e oga e hem and
o igh back agains hei neo-libe aliza ion o he academy, o hese assessmen s a e in ac
dec easing he b ead h o geog aphy, and in so doing, a e educing i s quali y, i s excellence. This
ailu e o an excellence amewo k, as such, o li e up o i s billing as a measu e o excellence – a he
ins ead p esc ibing a capi alis /co po a e e sion o excellence – e eals ha he model i sel is
essen ially lawed. Un o una ely, we, as academics, a e becoming o e in es ed in he idea o publish
o pe ish, publish in his jou nal and no ha jou nal, publish esea ch pape s and no book chap e s,
as a ounda ion s one o p esen -day schola ship. Consequen ly, ou capaci ies o mo e beyond his
neo-libe al o mula ion o academic publishing comple ely, a e g adually diminishing.
In he edi o ial se ing up he p e ious issue o Fennia, we sough o e-engage academics wi h
ano he possibili y, o sugges i does no ha e o be his way al oge he , and o lesh-ou an al e na i e
publishing model, o he e a e sub le adical mo es ha can be made ( o con inua ion, see he
© 2017 by he au ho . This open access a icle is licensed unde
a C ea i e Commons A ibu ion 4.0 In e na ional License.
162 FENNIA 195: 2 (2017)Edi o ial: Re lec ions
edi o ial o his issue, Kallio & Hy ä inen 2017). Fennia has a speci ic and adical publica ion policy. I
is non-p o i , open access, in a o o open e iewing, and espec ing o he igh s o au ho s (unde
C ea i e Commons, wi h COPE, indexed in DOAJ and ESCI). I s aims and scope a e b oad, encompassing
all ields o geog aphy, wi h an a en i eness o no he n dimensions, while opical and poli icized
issues a ising om any pa o he wo ld and in any empi ical con ex a e pa icula ly welcomed. The
six sideways Re lec ions on publishing in his issue o Fennia, seek o build upon his ini ial edi o ial in
he p e ious issue, on sub le adical mo es in academic publishing. They o e an al e na i e o he
s aid mode o pape w i ing and he ho ny issue o wan ing o publish you wo k in academic jou nals,
ye no wan ing o ep oduce he neo-libe aliza ion o academia in p in ed o m. Timely Re lec ions,
hey aise he p oblem wi h dissemina ing academic wo k h ough he s aigh jacke ed esea ch
pape as a c ea i e and c i ical o m, and app oach he p oblema ic o he con en ional publishing
model in di e en ways.
We begin wi h a subs an i e piece on he measu ing o esea ch quali y, quan i a i ely, om Michael
Jones, based on his expe ience o edi ing he No sk Geog a isk Tidssk i –No wegian Jou nal o Geog aphy
(NGT–NJG), o e a pe iod o six een yea s. This is ollowed by a e lec ion on socially jus publishing,
om Simon Ba e bu y, which a gues geog aphe s can also be publishe s, and o e s a di e en
expe ience o edi ing a ee online jou nal, he Jou nal o Poli ical Ecology. Following on om his
e lec ion, he edi o s o he adical geog aphy jou nal Human Geog aphy seek o eclaim alue om
academic labo , o e ing ou es a ound co po a e/capi alis academic publishing. Weighing in on he
na u e o he p oblem, hey e eal wha hey a e doing in esponse as a jou nal, wha successes hey
ha e had, and wha challenges emain. Simila ly, in eac ion o he e e -inc easing p essu e placed on
academics o publish wi hin he neolibe al uni e si y, he edi o s o ACME: An In e na ional Jou nal o
C i ical Geog aphies s a e ha schola s a e inc easingly declining o pa icipa e in pee e iew, and ha
his is he bigges obs acle hey ace as a jou nal. They a gue pe suasi ely ha pee e iew should be
conside ed as a o m o mu ual aid, which is oo ed in an e hics o coope a ion, pe haps o he o he
neolibe al uni e si y wi hin which we ope a e as schola s. The inal wo Re lec ions which ollow in his
li ely and imely deba e, ocus on he dominance o English language publishing in in e na ional
academic wo k, and he b oade geopoli ics o knowledge p oduc ion. De ek Ruez a gues ha
con ex s, app oaches, and modes o knowledge a e egula ly de alued, placing concu en ly c i ique
on he Finnish and No dic anking sys ems, in line wi h he i s e lec ion om Michael Jones. While
Sa a F egonese o e s a c i ical ake on English as lingua anca, s a ing mo e e lec ion is needed in
o de o academic English no o become once again pa o a disen anchising p ocess. I is pe haps
his disen anchising ha we mus gi e mo e hough o in a u u e issue o Re lec ions in Fennia, a
Finnish geog aphical jou nal published in English, ensu ing academic English does no become an
excluding ba ie , bo h in he w i ing and pee e iew s ages o publishing.
A c i ical e iew essay b ings his issue o Re lec ions o a close, in which Elisa Pascucci e lec s upon
and ci es a a mo e complex eali y han he one p esen ed in he book, Re uge: ans o ming a b oken
e ugee sys em (Be s & Collie 2017). Pascucci s a es ha undamen al esea ch on e ugees is missing
om he con o e sial book, which asks he ques ion: Can capi alism help e ugees? A lack o
engagemen wi h his o ical and empi ical p eceden s should no be o e looked he e o Pascucci, o
i is p ecisely his lack o engagemen , which allows he au ho s o exp ess an op imism abou e ugee-
iendly capi alism.
Re u ning o he six Re lec ions on academic publishing ha ollow, o end, we would like o s a e
p ecisely wha i is ha we a e aiming a wi h his discussion. We aim he e, o con ibu e o a c i ical
discussion on he neo-libe al di ec ion in which academia is a elling, among geog aphe s and o he
schola s, be ween academics and poli ical ac o s, globally and na ionally, in ins i u ional se ings and
scien i ic communi ies, in o de o hal a co po a e/capi alis c eep in o he academy. We welcome
esponses o he six Re lec ions published he e, in u u e issues, whe he ha is h ough he
a icula ion o al e na i e pe spec i es, o , in a o m ha builds upon he a gumen s and adical
agenda p esen ed. Sugges ions o simila discussions on ocal opics a e encou aged and will be
gi en a c i ical space wi hin he Re lec ions sec ion o Fennia in upcoming issues. We would like now,
o you o c i ically engage wi h he i al e lec ions ha ollow, ci cula e hem widely, and o epel
he neo-libe aliza ion o academia!
FENNIA 195: 2 (2017) 163James Riding & Ki si Pauliina Kallio
JAMES RIDING
FENNIA REFLECTIONS EDITOR
KIRSI PAULIINA KALLIO
FENNIA EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
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