To the Editor:
Re “Scholars Test Web Alternative to the Venerable Peer Review” (front page, Aug. 24):
There is certainly room in academia for alternative means to judge the competency of scholarship. But many objections to the peer review system as too narrow are unfounded.
Most academic journals allow rejected authors to resubmit their scholarship, provided they take into account the reviewer’s objections. This system is invaluable for younger scholars especially, and the final results are often an improvement on the original effort.
In addition, outlets for alternative views frequently occur by means of the founding of new journals. Take, for example, women’s studies. This is now an unquestioned discipline, which it was not 25 years ago. An important reason that it was able to establish itself was the appearance of new journals with the same peer review system that had previously served to exclude alternative viewpoints.
I have found that there is a rough justice in academic publishing. If at first you don’t succeed, try again. Good scholarship will find an outlet.
Christopher Soufas
Philadelphia, Aug. 24, 2010
The writer is a professor of Spanish and Portuguese at Temple University.
