Challenging the Neoliberal Academy: True Open Access in Critical Internationalization Studies

• In Event: Open Access Journals & Publishing: Inclusion Within Neoliberalism Contexts

Proposal

The Critical Internationalization Studies Review was first published in 2022 and is affiliated with the Critical Internationalization Studies Network. Both the journal and the network itself were founded as “spaces where scholars could come together to share through writing common interests and questions about complexities of engaging in internationalization work” (Castiello-Gutiérrez & Whatley, 2023, p. 1). We value diversity of perspective and working across epistemological differences in international contexts with particular focus on scholars and practitioners who work outside the confines of the neoliberal academy. As a consequence, open access is central to the journal’s mission and ethos. The journal’s most recent editorial (Whatley & Castiello-Gutiérrez, 2024) makes clear that the editors define OA as being freely available for both scholars to publish and readers to read without the imposition of APCs. We are proud to have published three issues of the journal thus far and to be well on our way to publishing a fourth.

Of course, our approach to OA publishing puts our editorial team in a situation where we are attempting to publish our journal without a clear and consistent funding stream. We initially tackled the funding issue with a generous grant from one of our institutions, yet funding remains an ongoing issue. Thus far, financial pressures have not affected our ability to remain truly OA, although these issues certainly influence how we operate our journal. Most recently, the larger, umbrella journal that helped support our publication platform shifted strategies to incorporate a significant APC, an action that went against our own OA mission. In response, we changed publication platforms so that we would not be affiliated or potentially impacted by this shift in policy at a different journal. This incident highlights how an action we view as unethical and counter to our mission at a completely different journal can influence the work that we do as a truly OA journal.

We remain committed to true OA publishing in response to the neoliberal and (neo)colonial academy (Castiello-Gutiérrez & Whatley, 2023) and aim to contribute to the democratization of knowledge for many years to come. Our contribution to this panel will challenge our audience and other panelists to think outside the box with reference to OA publishing as we challenge longstanding publication norms in the academy.

Authors

• Melissa Whatley, William and Mary

• Santiago Castiello Gutiérrez, Seton Hall University