Alien Forms and Minor Genres: A Speculative Handbook of Academic Labor

About this book

Alien Forms and Minor Genres speculates about how and why academia cultivates, manages, and rewards academic labor. Examining these issues within the context of the multidisciplinary field of Global Asias, Tina Chen tracks the diverse trajectories of research creation to delineate capaciously-imagined forms of scholarly labor and demonstrate their constructed value. She uses an experimental structure, setting examples of intellectual work in academia such as the book proposal, the lesson plan, and the syllabi against more in-depth genre criticism of research and service activities. By giving readers a look behind the curtain at these routine parts of academia and exploring the potential for alternative genres in intellectual inquiry, Chen reconceptualizes the nature, function, and praxis of scholarly work, showing how processes of academic labor are critical to creating and advancing scholarly knowledge.

Details

Format

Paperback

ISBN-13

9781478039235

Publisher

Duke University Press

Published

October 27, 2026

Pages

286

Weight

13.6 oz

Editions

2 (Paperback · Hardcover)

Subject

Education