The Platform Social Presents: Demystifying the Politics of Interdisciplinary Journal Publication

A BSA Postgraduate Forum Regional Event

15 May 2025 (9am-4:30pm BST)
Room 3.35, Edinburgh Futures Institute, University of Edinburgh, 1 Lauriston Place, Edinburgh EH3 9EF

About the Event

A day of discussion and hands-on feedback. This workshop will create a space for PhD candidates, early career researchers (ECRs), and more seasoned academics working at the intersection of digital sociology and other (sub)fields that straddle interdisciplinary boundaries to discuss and learn how to navigate the decisions and politics of publication outputs. The processes of selecting the right publications and navigating the ever-increasing number of journals remain a ‘black box’ into which PhD students have few insights.

In between keynotes and talks from senior colleagues, participants will engage in a writing feedback session. We ask that you come with one paper copy of a working paper (thesis chapter or journal article draft) of no more than 8,000 words. In the workshop, we will swap papers in pairs, giving time to read and draft comments and then discuss. The aim is to minimise workshop prep time, focusing on just preparing our own work, and use workshop time to generate feedback.

This workshop will explore:

How do we think about foregrounding and backgrounding each field in interdisciplinary research, and how does doing so inform their journal selection?
Do these processes lend themselves to targeting more general or niche journals?
In an academic environment where interdisciplinary research is increasingly encouraged yet perhaps publishing in interdisciplinary journals not incentivized as heavily in the REF, how should interdisciplinary postgraduate students weigh these perspectives in approaching their publication strategy?

At the end of the day, participants will walk away having a better understanding of the politics of journal publication in interdisciplinary research. The workshop will also provide the opportunity for participants to share their work, receive constructive feedback, and meet other researchers from across the UK and beyond who share an interdisciplinary approach to sociological inquiry.

Agenda

9-9:30am	Coffee and Mingling
9:30-10:30am	Keynote by Kate Miltner, University of Sheffield
10:45am-12:15pm	Talks and discussion about journal publishing Senior colleagues - Dr Karen Gregory, Dr Liz McFall, and Dr Ben Williamson - will reflect on their own experiences with journal publication, from authoring and reviewing to founding and editing journals.
12:15-1:15pm	Lunch
1:15-3:15pm	Writing, reading, and feedback session Participants should come with a printed work-in-progress piece of writing (max 8,000 words). Colleagues will swap papers, read, and discuss publishing-oriented feedback in the session.
3:30-4:30pm	Keynote by Niall Docherty, University of Sheffield Niall will discuss his latest book, Healthy Users, by University of California Press. It shows how the discourses, designs, and habits of online well-being push user conduct in certain directions, at the expense of others. In addition to discussing the content of this book, he will also share insights on balancing publishing priorities between journal articles and books.

Registration

This event is free to attend but registration is required.

The Organisers

This event is brought to you by the Platform Social in partnership with the British Sociological Association and organised by Meenakshi Mani, Ari Stillman and Addie McGowan.