A Geopolitics Of Academic Writing (Pitt Comp Literacy Culture) [Paperback]

A. Suresh Canagarajah (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Review

“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

From the Back Cover

"This is a bold and intellectually honest attempt to deal with the ethnography of writing focusing on the post-Foucauldian problem of power-knowledge as it applies to the unequal relationship between centers of academic power located in the United States and Europe and various peripheries located mostly in the third world."-Gananath Obeyesekere, Princeton University

"Canagarajah deepens and sharpens our understanding of the luxury of ordinary research, writing, and publishing practices even as he guides us through a thicket of extraordinary postcolonial barriers to the democratization of academic scholarship and publication."-Linda Brodkey, University of California, San Diego

"Will stand as a landmark for decades to come."-Lester Faigley, University of Texas

A Geopolitics of Academic Writing critiques current scholarly publishing practices and principles, exposing the inequalities in the way academic knowledge is constructed and legitimized. A. Suresh Canagarajah-a periphery scholar now working in (and writing from) the center-examines the broad Western conventions governing academic writing and argues that their dominance leads to the marginalization or appropriation of the knowledge of Third World communities.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 332 pages
• Publisher: University of Pittsburgh Press; 1 edition (December 15, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0822957949
• ISBN-13: 978-0822957942
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.1 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,447,762 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Inequities in Western Academic Publishing, July 17, 2006

By 

LM "LM" (Los Angeles, CA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: A Geopolitics Of Academic Writing (Pitt Comp Literacy Culture) (Paperback)

The Geopolitics of Academic Writing reviews the practices of western scholarly journals and university publishers, "exposing the inequalities in the way academic knowledge is constructed and legitimized." In a fascinating mix of personal anecdote and scholarly research, the Sri Lankan professor of literature and composition A. Suresh Canagarajah describes the challenges facing scholars from the "periphery" -- Asia, Africa, and Latin America -- in getting their work into "center" journals and books -- published and edited by Europeans and Americans. His analysis of how such scholars fall afoul of EuroAmerican conventions is insightful and important.

In this sense, The Geopolitics of Academic Writing is a book unlike any you have ever read. Anyone interested in globalization and higher education should read it. Canagarajah's book is the first that I have read that captures the real difficulties periphery scholars have in bringing their incredible research to light, the first comfort I have found for scholars on the periphery who endure so much to publish their rich research. So, if you are a periphery scholar, read this book for the affirmation and knowledge it will bring you. If you are a center editor, read it to learn how you can make yourself and your journal more open to the extraordinary diversity of thought and expression that marks the twenty-first century. You owe it to yourself.