Publishing strategies of young, highly mobile academics : the question of language in the European context

Abstract

This paper examines links between publishing strategies and academic mobility of multilingual entry-level scholars in the European context against the backdrop of European Union (EU) policies and research on academic labor market characteristics, skilled migration and scholarly publishing. An analysis of language of publication, patterns of co-authorship and mode of publication in the publishing records of 157 former fellows from a highly selective EU-supported post-doctoral program in economics, social and political science, history and law, indicates considerable disciplinary variation (e.g. ‘English-only’ co-authoring in economics; substantial multilingual publishing in the other disciplines). On the basis of semi-structured interviews with fellows publishing in from two to four languages, policy forces influencing language choice are identified and three patterns of multilingual publishing linked to projected and actual career trajectories are described. The study provides evidence of the impact of national and EU-level policies and practices on publishing choices during the doctoral and post-doctoral phases, while also highlighting the role of disciplinary identity and related social practices. It also underlines the need to assume a critical perspective on the equation often drawn between English-language publishing and ‘internationality’.