My Turn: Reading the Agenda of the 2003 Annual AAUP Directors' Meeting to Discover What's Wrong With University Press Publishing

Abstract

One of the hardest tasks for my authors is to step out of their disciplinary isolation and give me a one-liner about their book that will make sense to the average intelligent reader. It’s not that these bright people can’t accomplish the task, but after having been trained to communicate in highly specific (and therefore often exclusionary) ways, it can be hard for them to surface long enough to see the big picture. So too I believe that university presses have developed ways of communicating among ourselves that reinforce stereotypes about what we do, who our masters are, and where we believe our activity ranks in the ever-shifting sands of university fiscal priorities. A notable example of this is the meticulously crafted agenda for the annual directors’ meeting held in conjunction with the 2003 annual meeting of the Association of American University Presses (AAUP). At the outset, I offer my apologies to those who crafted the document (they do not deserve to have their words picked apart like this!). Admittedly without full regard to the valuable substance of the discussions at the meeting, I hope to draw attention to the way our presumably innocent use of language is working against us in these troubled times. Battle lines are quite literally drawn by the agenda’s title, ‘Tales from the Front Lines.’ This is to be a meeting for beleaguered warriors eager to continue fighting the good fight.