Making all the right moves : Foucault, journals, and the authorization of discourse

Richard McNabb applies Michel Foucault's theories of discourse to the industry of journal publishing. Using the specific example of scholarly journals on rhetoric and composition studies, McNabb argues that these journals establish and maintain significant influence over the conventions of particular disciplines by supporting the notion that publication is more important to professional development than pedagogy, defining the acceptable scholarly language (discourse) of a discipline, and limiting the approach of an author to the popular theoretical framework of a discipline. The author concludes that the editorial policies of academic journals can restrict the definition of knowledge and limit the degree of scholarly innovation that occurs within academe.