[lbo-talk] A public square

[Miles Jackson]

joanna wrote:
> wrobert at uci.edu wrote:
>
>   
>> Actually, it gets even better than this.  One of my professors in history
>> is about to publish his first book.  Not only is he not going to get paid
>> for it, but he is expected to pay for the production of the index.  Now
>> this is for a respected press, and my professor has already edited an
>> important collection of essay on post-colonial studies for Verso. 
>> Obviously, this doesn't mark professors as an especially oppressed group,
>> but it is kind of amazing.....  robert wood
>>  
>>
>>     
> I don't know. I would call working for nothing a little worse than slavery.
>
>
> Joanna
>   
But you're not really "working for nothing" when you publish an academic 
book; you're building your credentials, improving your likelihood of 
receiving grants and fellowships, fulfilling tenure or posttenure 
requirements.  Granted, you get little or no direct money for publishing 
books, but that's not the point.  Academe is a quaint "gift-giving" 
culture, where your prestige and access to resources are determined by 
your generous donation of academic goodies to your community.  It has 
always fascinated me how this profoundly non-capitalist culture thrives 
in our capitalist society.

Miles