Kathleen Fitzpatrick is an American scholar of
digital humanities
Digital humanities (DH) is an area of scholarly activity at the intersection of computing or Information technology, digital technologies and the disciplines of the humanities. It includes the systematic use of digital resources in the humanitie ...
and
media studies
Media studies is a discipline and field of study that deals with the content, history, and effects of various media; in particular, the mass media. Media studies may draw on traditions from both the social sciences and the humanities, but it mos ...
. She is the Director of Digital Humanities and Professor of English at Michigan State University.
Fitzpatrick has previously served as an Associate Executive Director and Director of Scholarly Communication of the
Modern Language Association
The Modern Language Association of America, often referred to as the Modern Language Association (MLA), is widely considered the principal professional association in the United States for scholars of language and literature. The MLA aims to "str ...
, Visiting Research Professor of English at
New York University
New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...
, co-editor of MediaCommons, and managing editor of
PMLA.
She was Professor of Media Studies at
Pomona College
Pomona College ( ) is a private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Claremont, California. It was established in 1887 by a group of Congregationalism in the United States, Congregationalists ...
from 1998 to 2013.
Biography
Fitzpatrick received her B.A. and M.F.A from
Louisiana State University
Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as Louisiana State University (LSU), is an American Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louis ...
and her Ph.D. from
New York University
New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...
.
Fitzpatrick is the author of ''
Planned Obsolescence: Publishing, Technology and the Future of the Academy'' (
New York University Press
New York University Press (or NYU Press) is a university press that is part of New York University
New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 ...
, 2011),
which was released for open peer review by MediaCommons Press in 2009.
She is also the author of ''The Anxiety of Obsolescence'' (
Vanderbilt University Press
Vanderbilt University Press is a university press that is part of Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee. The Press publishes a variety of scholarly texts, especially in the areas of the humanities and social sciences, health care, and educ ...
, 2006).
Her other publications include articles on the online peer-review platform MediaCommons: "MediaCommons: Scholarly Publishing in the Age of the Internet" and "CommentPress: New (Social) Structures for New (Networked) Texts."
Fitzpatrick has written extensively on critical issues concerning the rise of
digital humanities
Digital humanities (DH) is an area of scholarly activity at the intersection of computing or Information technology, digital technologies and the disciplines of the humanities. It includes the systematic use of digital resources in the humanitie ...
. She contributed two articles to the 2012 print edition of ''Debates In The Digital Humanities'' (
University of Minnesota Press
The University of Minnesota Press is a university press that is part of the University of Minnesota. It had annual revenues of just over $8 million in fiscal year 2018.
Founded in 1925, the University of Minnesota Press is best known for its book ...
, 2012), a compilation of writings on the theory, methodologies and pedagogy of the digital humanities. Seeking to address ongoing concerns within this growing field, the book is now open-access and interactive, allowing the discussion to continue. Kathleen Fitzpatrick's contributions to the collection are “The Humanities, Done Digitally”, and “Beyond Metrics: Community Authorization and Open Peer Review”.
Publications
Generous Thinking
In her book, ''Generous Thinking: The University and the Public Good'' (2018), Kathleen Fitzpatrick explores the "ways that scholars might connect and communicate with a range of off-campus communities about our shared interests and concerns."
Planned Obsolescence
In her book ''
Planned Obsolescence
In economics and industrial design, planned obsolescence (also called built-in obsolescence or premature obsolescence) is the concept of policies planning or designing a good (economics), product with an artificially limited Product lifetime, u ...
'' (2011), Kathleen Fitzpatrick describes the technological crisis facing scholarly work within the context of digital communication. She explores the relationship between digital communication and the future of academic publishing, and argues for a new way of working that would give equal weight to online and print publications. A
Choice Outstanding Academic Title for 2013, Fitzpatrick's describes the multiple stresses facing scholarly publishing and promotes a new model for peer review,
peer-to-peer
Peer-to-peer (P2P) computing or networking is a distributed application architecture that partitions tasks or workloads between peers. Peers are equally privileged, equipotent participants in the network, forming a peer-to-peer network of Node ...
review, on online platforms such as MediaCommons where authors can invite their peers or the public to comment on their work. Before publishing her book with
NYU Press
New York University Press (or NYU Press) is a university press that is part of New York University.
History
NYU Press was founded in 1916 by the then chancellor of NYU, Elmer Ellsworth Brown.
Directors
* Arthur Huntington Nason, 1916–193 ...
in 2011, Fitzpatrick's manuscript was open to comments online.
MediaCommons
Kathleen Fitzpatrick is co-editor of MediaCommons, an online community network in media studies which seeks to promote new forms of publishing and transform what it means to "publish." It does more than simply move text from page to screen, MediaCommons highlights the process as much as the product. MediaCommons was founded with the support of The Institute For the Future of the Book and the
National Endowment for the Humanities
The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) is an independent federal agency of the U.S. government, established by thNational Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act of 1965(), dedicated to supporting research, education, preserv ...
.
See also
*
Digital Humanities
Digital humanities (DH) is an area of scholarly activity at the intersection of computing or Information technology, digital technologies and the disciplines of the humanities. It includes the systematic use of digital resources in the humanitie ...
*
Academic publishing
Academic publishing is the subfield of publishing which distributes Research, academic research and scholarship. Most academic work is published in academic journal articles, books or Thesis, theses. The part of academic written output that is n ...
*
Peer review
Peer review is the evaluation of work by one or more people with similar competencies as the producers of the work (:wiktionary:peer#Etymology 2, peers). It functions as a form of self-regulation by qualified members of a profession within the ...
*
Digital collaboration Digital collaboration is using digital technologies for collaboration. Dramatically different from traditional collaboration, it connects a broader network of participants who can accomplish much more than they would on their own. Digital Collabora ...
*
Modern Language Association
The Modern Language Association of America, often referred to as the Modern Language Association (MLA), is widely considered the principal professional association in the United States for scholars of language and literature. The MLA aims to "str ...
References
External links
Faculty Page at NYUProfile on MLA CommonsFitzpatrick's homepageInstitute for the Future of the BookDebates in the Digital Humanities
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fitzpatrick, Kathleen
American academics of English literature
1967 births
Living people
Pomona College faculty
Louisiana State University alumni
New York University alumni
Electronic literature critics