Academic Literature

May 14, 2008

What would happen if we began to think about academic writing in the humanities as akin to literature? I ask this because I've been looking back over Ancient Egypt: Anatomy of a Civilization by Barry Kemp. The book summarizes a lifetime of work in Egypt.. but more than that it is the product of a finely critical mind. It is a book that I would nominate for the top 100 non-fiction books of the century.

Kemp's book is on ancient Egypt.. which I study, so this is a convenient work to reference and re-read. But why should I be constrained by books in my field? I would get more out of a great book on a city in China or South America than I would out of the next mediocre book to cover Cairo. In other words: the fineness of an author's perceptions and creative presentation largely trumps the bare information conveyed by a book closer to my subject area.

Given the barriers between academic disciplines it is difficult to know the texts that would be most stimulating for me to read about other cities and civilizations. This is not a problem when it comes to literature. We choose novels based on the excellence and insight of the author.. and not so much on a narrow field of research like "southern short stories." The literature-phile looks everywhere for authors who can present the world in a surprising way. Why couldn't those in the humanities begin to conceptualize their reading in a similar manner?

I know this would require re-thinking the way journals and conferences work. But if that is impossible a website such as this one can be a start at highlighting creative academic work.. work that is startling and lasting in the way that a great novel is.