[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]
Publishing
Most dissertations do not get published, however, publishing has a
lot to do with career. Laurel Thatcher Ulrich was just another
young history professor at New Hampshire until her Goodwives was
published. I believe that was in 1982. Shortly after she went to
Harvard. Since there she has published A Midwife's Tale and
Homespun. If she had been kept from publishing
Goodwives by an archives were she was researching, she might not
have received her position at Harvard. I think she chairs the
American History Department.
It must be a terrific let down for the young woman. First you
are told the Johns Hopkins Press will publish your dissertation, then the
rug is pulled out from under you because the institution where you did
your research disagrees with your findings. I guess the lesson here
is don't sign anything unless you know the full implications.
Barbara O'Brien
College Archivist
Western Maryland College
bobrien@wmdc.edu