3.1073 conference proceedings; PhD theses (75)

Willard McCarty (MCCARTY@vm.epas.utoronto.ca)
Mon, 19 Feb 90 17:41:44 EST

Humanist Discussion Group, Vol. 3, No. 1073. Monday, 19 Feb 1990.


(1) Date: Fri, 16 Feb 90 22:44:59 CST (11 lines)
From: ENCOPE@LSUVM
Subject: Conference Proceedings Are Beautiful

(2) Date: Sun, 18 Feb 90 16:13:36 IST (24 lines)
From: Ron Zweig <H27@TAUNIVM>
Subject: PhD Dissertations, Proceedings

(3) Date: Mon, 19 Feb 90 06:18:00 EST (16 lines)
From: "HELEN ARISTAR-DRY" <islhad@es.uit.no>
Subject: RE: 3.1059 queries (108)

(1) --------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Fri, 16 Feb 90 22:44:59 CST
From: ENCOPE@LSUVM
Subject: Conference Proceedings Are Beautiful

Both the International Society for Eighteenth-Century Studies and the
International Comparative Literature Association publish quadrenniel
international congress proceedings that are beautifully produced,
fully professional, and doggedly rigorous. Because they are virtually
uncensored, they contain many more interesting essays than do most
professional journals. They also look impressive on the bookshelf.
And, being weighty, they can serve as a handy weapon against ignorance. -- KLC
(2) --------------------------------------------------------------32----
Date: Sun, 18 Feb 90 16:13:36 IST
From: Ron Zweig <H27@TAUNIVM>
Subject: PhD Dissertations, Proceedings

In response to Willard's query on the use of dissertations and
proceeedings: I definitely cite dissertations, as there is often
a very long time lag between their deposition in a library and
the publication of whatever book emerges from the manuscript.
Proceedings as such, however, as a verbatim or lightly edited
protocol of what was said as a conference, are next to useless.
It is far better to wait for the publication of an article
or book resulting from the research in question. Or, alas,
more usually, to refer to work already published that has been
regurgitated at a conference. The only conference-based
literature worth using is that which has been </>selected</>
and </>rewritten</> and </>edited</> for publication in
a collection of essays which may, incidentally, have first seen
the light of day at a conference.
Anyone who has organized a conference and then contemplated the
publication of the proceedings knows, in the deepest recesses of their hearts,
that only a few of the lectures ever merit the effort.

Ron Zweig
Tel Aviv University
(3) --------------------------------------------------------------22----
Date: Mon, 19 Feb 90 06:18:00 EST
From: "HELEN ARISTAR-DRY" <islhad@es.uit.no>
Subject: RE: 3.1059 queries (108)

Just a quick reply to Willard's query about the status of Ph.D. theses:
I expect this varies considerably from field to field. As someone with
a foot in both linguistics and literature, I think that W's observations
are accurate for English but not for linguistics. In linguistics, theses
rarely come out as books--the field still has relatively few full-
length books--but are regularly cited. Indeed, I think it would be
a great breach not to cite a Ph.D. thesis in a subsequent article on
the same topic.

Helen Aristar-Dry
islhad.es.uit.no