A Geopolitics of Academic Writing

Includes bibliographical references (p. 314-324) and index.

“A welcome intervention in such fields as English studies, rhetoric, liguistics, postcolonial theory, and of western knowledge construction in general, and the publishing practices of academia in particular.”

--Rocky Mountain Review

Milton Studies is published annually by the University of Pittsburgh Press as a forum for Milton scholarship and criticism. The journal defines the literary, intellectual, and historical contexts that impacted Milton by studying the work of his contemporaries, seventeenth century political and religious movements, his influence on other writers, and the history of critical response to his work.

A Geopolitics of Academic Writing critiques current scholarly publishing practices, exposing the inequalities in the way academic knowledge is constructed and legitimized. As a periphery scholar now working in (and writing from) the center, Suresh Canagarajah is uniquely situated to demonstrate how and why contributions from Third World scholars are too often relegated to the perimeter of academic discourse. He examines three broad conventions governing academic writing: textual concerns (matters of languages, style, tone, and structure), social customs (the rituals governing the interactions of members of the academic community), and publishing practices (from submission protocols to photocopying and postage requirements). Canagarajah argues that the dominance of Western conventions in scholarly communication leads directly to the marginalization or appropriation of the knowledge of Third World communities.

Contextualizing academic writing -- Communities of knowledge construction -- Conventions in knowledge construction -- Textual conventions in conflict -- Publishing requirements and material constraints -- Literacy practices and academic culture -- Poverty and power in knowledge production -- Reform, resistance, reconstruction.