Publishing Anthropology, Part 1: What Editors Want

This episode of AnthroPod is the first of a two-part series on publishing in academia. In Part 1, we go behind-the-scenes in the editorial offices of Cultural Anthropology, American Anthropologist, and Duke University Press with Anne Allison, Tom Boellstorff, and Tim Elfenbein. Part 2 will feature Dominic Boyer, James Faubion, Cymene Howe, George Marcus, and Mary Murrell.

Anne Allison is professor of anthropology and women's studies at Duke University. Professor Allison and Charles Piot are the current editors of Cultural Anthropology. Her publications include Precarious Japan; Permitted and Prohibited Desires: Mothers, Comics, and Censorship in Japan; and Nightwork: Sexuality, Pleasure, and Corporate Masculinity in a Tokyo Hostess Club

Tom Boellstorff is a professor in the Department of Anthropology at the University of California, Irvine. From 2007–2012 he was editor-in-chief of American Anthropologist. He currently sits on the editorial boards of many journals, including Cultural Anthropology, Games and Culture, and Sexualities. His publications include The Gay Archipelago, A Coincidence of Desires, Coming of Age in Second Life, and (as coauthor) Ethnography and Virtual Worlds: a Handbook of Method.

Articles by Tom Boellstorff Mentioned in the Interview

2008. "How to Get an Article Accepted at American Anthropologist (or Anywhere)." American Anthropologist 110, no. 3: 281–83.

2010. "Three Tips for Making Peer Review Work for You." American Anthropologist 112, no. 1: 1–4.

2010. "How to Get an Article Accepted at American Anthropologist (or Anywhere), Part 2." American Anthropologist 112, no. 3: 353–56.

2011. "Submission and Acceptance: Where, Why, and How to Publish Your Article." American Anthropologist 113, no. 3: 383–88.

2012. "Anatomy of an Article: The Peer-Review Process as Method." With Neha Vora. American Anthropologist 114, no. 4: 578–82.

Timothy W. Elfenbein is the managing editor of Cultural Anthropology and a former assistant managing editor in the books division of Duke University Press. Tim's article, "Cultural Anthropology and the Infrastructure of Publishing," was published as part of Cultural Anthropology's special section on open access in the May 2014 (29.2) issue, and he was also interviewed for AnthroPod's episode on Open Access. You can follow Tim's work on his academia.edu page.

Credits

Jessica Lockrem is the producer of this episode of AnthroPod. Special thanks to Rupa Pillai for help in editing. And many thanks to Grant Otsuki and Bascom Guffin for technical assistance.

AnthroPod features interviews with current anthropologists about their work, current events, and their experiences in the field. You can find AnthroPod at SoundCloud, subscribe to it on iTunes, or use our RSS feed. If you have suggestions for future episodes or feedback on this episode, please leave us a comment to the right, or get in touch via Facebook or Twitter.

Music:

"Backed Vibes (clean)" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Direct Link: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?isrc=USUAN1100479.

"As I Figure" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Direct Link: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?isrc=USUAN1100323.

Sweeter Vermouth by Kevin MacLeod and Piano Theme by Jonathan Rich.