Mediterranean Editors and Translators Meeting 2007 – METM 07
Building Bridges, Constructing Networks

Real Jardín Botánico/CSIC, Plaza de Murillo 2, 28014 Madrid, Spain

25-26 October 2007:
Pre-METM Workshops and General Assembly
27 October 2007:
Meeting
28 October 2007:
Post-METM Excursion

Poster: Academic publishing in a global context: exploring the experiences of multilingual scholars


Scholars around the world are coming under increasing pressure to publish research in English-medium academic publications. Achieving English-medium publishing, particularly in academic journals, can yield benefits for getting jobs, promotions, and research grants and being able to disseminate research to a wider audience. This paper presents an overview of findings emerging from a longitudinal study, begun in 2001, of the English academic writing and publishing experiences of some 50 scholars in Portugal, Spain, Hungary, and Slovakia. Key questions our ongoing research raises are as follows:

  • What obstacles and opportunities do scholars in different settings encounter in their efforts to publish in English?
  • In what ways do local, national, and international networks support scholars’ writing in English?
  • How do ‘literacy brokers’-such as friends, colleagues, translators- influence the texts being produced?
  • Which texts are successful or unsuccessful in being accepted for publication, and why?

In order to explore these questions we have developed a methodology we refer to as a ‘text oriented ethnography’ which involves careful tracking of texts –and those involved in the crafting of such texts- from early drafting through to submission and publication. This paper will outline the research methodology, summarize key findings to date and point to future direction in this project.

Theresa Lillis, the Open University UK t.m.lillis@open.ac.uk, and Mary Jane Curry, University of Rochester, New York mjcurry@Warner.Rochester.edu.