Harris (2014) in a popular higher education publication writes that the effect of the system of referring to academic writers exclusively by their surname distances readers from the author and reinforces the idea that only work published by universities is worthy of critical engagement. I agree with Karen Harris, tutor of English for academic purposes in the Language Centre at the University of the Arts London. Her article “Beyond the ivory tower” in Times Higher Education makes a strong case for a review of the current orthodoxy of what is valid academic work, otherwise the seismic shift to online discourse will leave academics in their ivory towers calculating the number of angels who could dance on a pin.
Ray Stoneham
Principal lecturer
Faculty of Architecture, Computing and Humanities
University of Greenwich
