This year’s Open Access Week theme is Community over Commercialization. We think that publishing open access Textbooks is one important aspect of Open Access, which both serves the interests of the public and the academic community.
We have asked some questions to Sonya Petersson, Chair of the Editorial Board of the peer-reviewed textbook series Basic Readings in Culture and Aesthetics (BaRCA), which also includes the textbook sub-series, Teoretiska tillämpningar i konstvetenskap (Eng: Theoretical Applications in Art History).
What was the aim and purpose of starting BaRCA and Teoretiska tillämpningar I konstvetenskap?
– Both series were planned to satisfy our need of research-based course literature. The books should be broad enough to be used in different departments nationally, but still specific enough to fit our courses. Another main ambition is that the books should be produced by teachers/researchers with a starting point in their own field of expertise.
Why is it important to publish Open Access peer-reviewed textbooks?
– Peer review contributes to the quality of the books, while open access greatly facilitates retrieval for both students and teachers. It is important that a part of a book, as a single chapter, can be retrieved open access, to make it easily incorporated in a reading list.
Are the books used as course literature for students at Stockholm University and at other universities?
– Yes, they are used at Stockholm University and to a lesser (but growing) extent in other higher education institutions in Sweden (so far, the language is Swedish).
Are there any particular challenges with publishing textbooks that you would like to highlight?
– To fit together present research questions with educational and pedagogical needs and publication speed.
What do you think the future will look like for Open Access peer-reviewed textbooks and for your book series?
– We think that the interest in our and similar peer reviewed Open Access series/books will keep on growing.
Further reading
Peer reviewed open access textbooks in high demand
Read a discussion call on universities and colleagues to make textbooks, as well as Open Educational Resources (OER), more accessible, with immediate open access. Peer reviewed open access textbooks in high demand
New textbook published – download it for free!
Materialitet: Teoretiska tillämpningar i konstvetenskap 4 deals with the multifaceted nature of the concept of materiality. The concept has gained an increasingly important place in the humanities. Read more about this book and download it for free.
Basic Readings in Culture and Aesthetics
Basic Readings in Culture and Aesthetics (BaRCA) (ISSN 2002-6463) is a peer-reviewed series of monographs and edited volumes which started in 2017. The book series also includes the sub-series, Teoretiska tillämpningar i konstvetenskap. BaRCA , which publishes textbooks built on high-quality research within the disciplines of Art History, Heritage Studies, Curating Art, History of Ideas, Literary Studies, Musicology, Theatre, Performance and Dance Studies.
About Stockholm University Press
Stockholm University Press – a part of Stockholm University – is an open access publisher of peer reviewed academic journals and books. Our focal points are rigorous peer review, open access and global dissemination.
Stockholm University Press Blog 