Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Academic Editing in the Humanities
A senior scholar in the field of history (premodern Japan), professor at Sophia University in the Faculty of Liberal Arts, and editor of Monumenta Nipponica since 1997, Kate Wildman Nakai has worked assiduously to improve the quality of the academic writing and scholarship that flows over her desk. In an event co-organized by Monumenta Nipponica and SWET, Nakai shared some of her extensive experience with the writing and editorial issues involved in preparing academic articles in the humanities for publication and answered questions from the audience. This article was prepared from a transcription of the talk.
In the fields of history, thought, art history, religion, and literature, which are the main subjects of articles published in Monumenta Nipponica, the rules of academic writing are less formally structured than in the sciences, creating greater freedom but also greater possibility for uncertainty, a lack of clarity, and poor organization. Researchers have traditionally been guided as writers by their professors and by the models, advice, and comments of mentors and colleagues. Some master the craft more quickly than others. The role of a journal or book editor of a scholarly work will vary case by case but is sometimes crucial to helping not just the inexperienced but even a mature researcher to set his or her writing on a clearer and more accessible track, improve its style, and deal with numerous structural and technical issues along the way.
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