The Print Fetish

Inside Higher Ed - October 7, 2012 

By Lee Bessette

I got a nice surprise in the mail Friday – a copy of the book where one of my essays was recently published (University of Chicago Press is distributing it in North America, if you’re interested). I have to admit that I was more than a little thrilled to crack open the cover, see my name in the table of contents, read the description of my piece and how it contributes to the collection in the introduction, and then read the essay itself on the pages of the book.

I have been critical of traditional academic publishing for some time (which might be an understatement). The traditional system is largely closed (due to in no small part to high costs), glacially slow, and ultimately, I think, unsustainable. I admire the work that the MLA and other groups are doing to try and open up (and speed up) the academic publishing world, taking advantage of the vast expanses of the Internet. But as expressed by Kathleen Fitzpatrick, some habits are very hard to break, and our love of the book and printed word seems to be one of them.
I broached the subject on Twitter.

Read more: http://www.insidehighered.com/blogs/college-ready-writing/print-fetish#ixzz28hnMkt6w

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