May 13, 2008
Writing Students and Professors Fight to Keep Theses From Being Freely Available Online
As more graduate students deposit their theses online and make them freely available, college administrators on a number of campuses are being asked to treat creative-writing theses differently. English professors and writing students are pressing college officials to exclude creative-writing theses from open-access policies, arguing that they undermine students’ ability to get published in literary journals.
Jeanne M. Leiby, an associate professor of English at Louisiana State University, is among those who argue that writing students should not be forced to widely distribute their theses online. Ms. Leiby, who is editor of the literary journal, The Southern Review says in an article in this week’s Chronicle that she will not accept manuscripts that have been freely disseminated online.
She also says that writing students may be hesitant about making their theses open access because of professional pride. “I don’t necessarily want people to go back and read my thesis,” says Ms. Leiby, who earned a graduate degree in writing from the University of Alabama. “I’d like to think that in 15 years I’ve become more of a writer. I don’t necessarily want those early attempts associated with my name.”—Andrea L. Foster
Posted on Tuesday May 13, 2008 | Permalink |Comments
Commenting is closed for this article.
Previous: Educause Issues Statement on RIAA's Methods of Catching Music Pirates
Next: Turn Your Laptop Into an Earthquake Sensor
“I’d like to think that in 15 years I’ve become more of a writer” – but can’t the same be said of Doctoral Students whose first book may be a grand reworking and improvement upon their diss? Despite the fact that standards have shot up and grad students are forced to prove a competence unheard of in previous years, many grad students see their diss (rightfully in my opinion) as a work in progress and first step and yet we are being forced to display it with all its flaws. And it could even prevent us from getting a job (not just a publication)! I think all graduate work should be waived from “open access” – only articles in journals should be open access (like what Harvard is doing with their faculty)
— phd May 13, 04:14 PM #
I have news for you, phd. Your entire life has been an open book since the advent of the World Wide Web. I just googled “phd” and got 49.8 million hits. Open book, no matter what snopes says.
— Harry Nile May 13, 05:06 PM #
Dear phd,
Creative writers usually need significant publications (often a book) prior to getting teaching positions, so creative writing students get knocked twice. Reduce our chances to publish, and you reduce our chances to be employed.
— mfa May 13, 05:27 PM #
“Despite the fact that standards have shot up and grad students are forced to prove a competence unheard of in previous years . . .” My pride and experience force me to ask: Really? In what field (or on what planet)?
— Bob Rosenberg May 13, 05:48 PM #
What about universities’ responsibility to advance human knowledge? Other disciplines have accepted that theses need to be publically available in order to serve the public interest.
Why should creative writing students be treated differently? Because their theses do not advance human knowledge?
— Curt Fischer May 14, 10:03 AM #
Yeah, most theses are sooo brilliant that they must be protected. Make them available—perhaps the overall quality of work will improve.
— Roberto Gonzalez May 14, 10:26 AM #
I agree with phd—why isn’t this a concern for all graduate students who, through open access, are forced to “publish” what are essentially works-in-progress?
It is a far different thing for potential readers to have to search for a thesis or diss in a library than to have it freely available online (whether or not one is a creative writer).
— J May 14, 03:36 PM #
Theses & dissertations (regardless of subject) are incredibly valuable research resources that should have been reviewed pretty thoroughly by the advisers/sponsors. But even if they haven’t been thoroughly reviewed, others can build upon the concepts covered, benefit from the list of references used, etc. Anyone who puts a lot of academic weight on something you wrote 15 years ago (to the exclusion of more recent data) needs to take a closer look in the mirror, methinks.
— JayAre May 14, 03:54 PM #