Looking back: What was important? | Jan Blommaert | Ctrl+Alt+Dem

"...I wanted to make my work available in open access and to create genuinely democratic mechanisms of circulation and distribution. Remember what I said earlier about science as a commons: I take that seriously. So, from very early on, I started series of working papers that enabled published high-quality material to circumvent the paywalls of commercial publishers. And as soon as the web became a factor of importance in our trade, I used it as a forum for circulation and distribution. Everything I write is first posted on a blog (this blog), and then usually moves to a working paper format in the Tilburg Papers in Culture Studies, before it finds its way into expensive journals or books. I also became an early mover on academic sharing platforms such as Academia.edu and ResearchGate. And I am proud to see that a large segment of those who read and download my materials are scholars from the Global South – those who can’t afford the commercial versions of my work...."