Gimena del Rio Riande, Jennifer Isasi Abstract: Academic publishing is one of the keystones of science. Articles, books, chapters, and proceedings build a scientific field. In this locus of competitive struggle (Bourdieu, 1966), language choice is no small issue. The examination of linguistic practices of scholars on a global level constitutes a privileged outlook onto the field’s inner logics and its global power relations. This course will focus on the practices and experiences of knowledge exchange in the so-called Global Digital Humanities, focusing on the possible exclusions and inequities related to multilingualism, diversity, and representation in academic publishing.
Openness and fast growth of information technology have contributed to reducing many injustices in knowledge dissemination. However, strategies for positively transforming and opening scholarly communication on a global scale in ways that eliminate systematic and biased understandings of participation and success are still needed. In this course we aim at debating on the use of languages for communicating science, publishing circuits (Beigel, 2014), the impact of assessment in linguistic choices, and the prevalence of the English-language as a lingua franca in academic publishing, together with claims of linguistic misrepresentation in journals, conferences, etc., in the Global Digital Humanities.
We know that Anglophone digital humanists generally don’t cite work conducted in other regions, much less if it is published in other languages. But how does one of the major sub-communities of the Digital Humanities, the Spanish-speaking Humanidades Digitales, fare in that respect? Are we publishing in our own languages when given the opportunity? And are we citing our language colleagues? Why is this happening (or not happening)?
We will offer use cases and reflections on issues regarding multilingualism, diversity, and representation. The emphasis will be on the local contexts and relevancies of participation and impact, including debates related to technologies and access. Theories related to the Latin American Open Access and Global Science experience and Global South studies will help as alternative ways of examining local and global questions about scholarly communication in the Digital Humanities and Humanidades Digitales.
This is the sixth edition of this FSCI course. Since 2017 we have been exploring different topics related to global inequities in scholarly communication. This is the first year we ground the discussion in the Digital Humanities field. The class will offer a mix of lecture and practical work, particularly information gathering and analysis. The emphasis will be on providing frameworks for critical episteme and considerations within which information can be gathered and understood rather than on “fact teaching.” We will encourage participants to engage reflectively with the material, bringing their own experiences to bear.
Bibliographic References
- Beigel, F. (2014). Publishing from the periphery: Structural heterogeneity and segmented circuits. The evaluation of scientific publications for tenure in Argentina’s CONICET. Current Sociology, 62(5), 743–765. https://doi.org/10.1177/0011392114533977
- Bourdieu, P. (1971). Champ du pouvoir, champ intellectuel et habitus de classe. Scoliés, I.
Audience: Researchers, librarians, faculty/scholars, publishers, and technical support staff.
LIVE ZOOM SESSION SCHEDULE (All times Pacific UTC-7)Tuesday, July 267-8AM
Wednesday, July 277-8AM
Thursday, July 287-8AM
