ABSTRACT
In this chapter, the authors offer an explanation for the changes they have found and explore some of the challenges and options they offer researchers, teachers and students. Academic publishing today is, very much part of its time, a representation of a neoliberal view of a world in which free competition sorts out those who deserve to succeed from the rest. The sciences are increasing their use of involvement features such as first- and second-person pronouns, possibility modals and discourse particles to build social interaction and more inclusive relationships with readers. Behind the maxim ‘publish or perish’ are powerful political, commercial and social imperatives which help shape what is talked about, who is heard and what language is used. Language becomes a form of technology which presents interpretations and positions participants, both writers and readers, in particular ways to establish knowledge.
