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Category: open social scholarship

On “Breaking the Book: Print Humanities in the Digital Age,” by Laura Mandell

On “Breaking the Book: Print Humanities in the Digital Age,” by Laura Mandell

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In Breaking the Book: Print Humanities in the Digital Age, Laura Mandell contends with the form and function of the book (and especially the book of literary or cultural criticism) as well as the shift from a print-based to electronic-based humanities. She suggests that it is timely to critically engage with the academic book as universities and their outputs increasingly move online. In this sense, Mandell’s topic is akin to Kathleen Fitzpatrick’s in Planned Obsolescence: Publishing, Technology, and the Future…

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On “E-Book Logic: We Can Do Better,” by John Maxwell

On “E-Book Logic: We Can Do Better,” by John Maxwell

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John Maxwell takes issue with the current state of e-books in “E-Book Logic: We Can Do Better”– or, more precisely, with the e-book market. He argues that e-books are touted as being new (as of 2013) but that the electronic book, or at least electronic-facilitated writing, has a decades-long history. What is new, Maxwell suggests, is that large corporations (cough *Amazon* cough) are inventively controlling how consumers interact with digital media versus other consumer goods. In this article, Maxwell aims…

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On “Humanistic Theory and Digital Scholarship,” by Johanna Drucker

On “Humanistic Theory and Digital Scholarship,” by Johanna Drucker

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In the classic chapter “Humanistic Theory and Digital Scholarship,” Johanna Drucker argues that computational methods are at odds with humanistic approaches. She suggests that the digital humanities needs to develop humanistic models for computer-based inquiry. In doing so, practitioners can actively resist the flattening affects of using tools, platforms, and systems that were created through purely quantitative methods, rather than the qualitative approach inherent to the humanities. Drucker’s chapter has become a digital humanities touchstone since its publication. Many DH…

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On “Beyond Open: Expanding Access to Scholarly Content,” by Alice Meadows

On “Beyond Open: Expanding Access to Scholarly Content,” by Alice Meadows

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Alice Meadows provides a review of major low cost or public access initiatives  in “Beyond Open: Expanding Access to Scholarly Content.” She summarizes the New School for Social Research’s Journal Donation Project , Research for Life, the International Network for Access to Scientific Publications (INASP), Electronic Information for Libraries (EIFL), patientACCESS, Access to Research, Emergency Access Initiative (EAI), and Strengthening Research and Knowledge Systems (SRKS). Meadows’ review is useful insofar as it provides a broad sense of low cost / public…

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On “Beyond Open Access to Open Publication and Open Scholarship,” by John Maxwell

On “Beyond Open Access to Open Publication and Open Scholarship,” by John Maxwell

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In “Beyond Open Access to Open Publication and Open Scholarship,” John Maxwell imagines what a humanities-based digital scholarly communication system would look like if it was modeled after prevalent web technologies, practices, and metaphors. He compares the opportunities that this approach might bring against traditional (read: current) academic publishing practices. This “webby model of scholarly communication” (5) would need to produce recognizable academic artifacts. Maxwell concludes that for digital scholarly artifacts to succeed in our current climate, they require at…

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