People toss around the phrase "publish or perish" without thought these days, especially in the humanities. Certainly, professors tell their master's and doctoral students that, should they pursue an academic career, they will be expected to present papers at conferences, publish journal articles, and, to receive tenure, produce a…

"Publish or perish" has long been the formula of academic labor at research universities, but for many humanities professors that imperative has decayed into a simple rule of production. The publish-or-perish model assumed a peer-review process that maintained quality, but more and more it is the bare volume of printed words that counts. When…

Provides a case study of the use of departmental peer review at the University of Rhode Island, focusing on the differing attitudes toward the peer review process held by tenured and untenured faculty, the apprehension of women and minority faculty toward the process, and the "ratcheting up" of the research and publication requirements…

It is argued that increasing pressure on graduate students and new doctorate recipients to publish is confusing entry-level faculty employment issues and stressing skills that may have little to do with the jobs available. Faculty are encouraged to protest the escalation of entry-level requirements and change unrealistic hiring practices. (MSE)