Publishing in Slavic Studies: Limitations and Liberatory Potential

Session Submission Type: Roundtable

Brief Description

TThe majority of academic publications by most university, independent, and trade presses have not reflected the demand for more expert knowledge about the wider Slavic world that’s been stoked by Russia’s recent military assaults on and efforts to undermine and subjugate its former imperial territories. Nevertheless, there is a lot that traditional and nontraditional publishers can do to change the situation for the better. In this roundtable, we plan to discuss changes to the definitions of the regions of Central, Southern, and Eastern Europe; the Black Sea; and Central Asia; as well as of the field of Slavic studies itself, including but not limited to Russian studies and the ethical challenges it’s faced following Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, Georgia, and other neighboring states. Taking into account the self-inflicted damage wrought by focusing almost exclusively on Russia and its cultural and civic concerns for over 70 years, how can publishers in Slavic studies help our discipline liberate itself from a purely Russia-centric research and publication agenda? How can publishers facilitate more representation of and voices from marginalized, oppressed, and persecuted communities and cultures? And how might challenging publishing norms allow for more creative energies to emerge within research-based enterprises? A discussion of publishing cannot avoid the need to reconsider the formats that have become traditional for disseminating expert knowledge about the region and its peoples. As the trend toward and demand for making research outcomes widely accessible and comprehensible to non-specialist audiences continues, what are the potential liberations and limitations of “alternative” formats, including those that are video- and audio-driven, born-digital, graphic, open-source, indie-led, or public-facing? How might book publishers support research-based scholarship that does not conform to traditional scholarly models and may not yet be accepted for the purposes of career advancement in academia? What role can such formats play in reforming our field and turning our attention to previously underappreciated political, cultural, and social phenomena? What can we as publishers do to respond to the material and epistemological challenges the scholarly community faces today?

Sub Unit

• Professional Development, Non-language Pedagogy, State-of-Field

Chair

• Faith Wilson Stein, Northwestern U Press

Roundtable Members

• Beth Bouloukos, Amherst College Press

• Yasha Klots, CUNY Hunter College

• Oleh Kotsyuba, Harvard U

• Stephen J Shapiro, U of Toronto Press (Canada)