“Burning Down the House” challenges the view that scholar-led open-access publishing has helped push open access in a more commercial direction, and that nonprofit university presses offer a better, more balanced path for fair access to knowledge. 

In this talk, Dr. Eileen Joy questions the recent idea of “academy-owned” publishing and argues that today’s market-driven university system is not the best place to guarantee equitable access or academic freedom. 

While university presses have published important work, they also operate within systems that value oversight, metrics, and conformity. These pressures shape hiring, tenure, and promotion, and can limit creativity and independent thinking—even as presses claim to “advance thought.” 

By framing publishing as “academy-owned,” universities risk reinforcing the idea that knowledge belongs within established institutions. Joy’s talk suggests that scholar-led presses may currently offer more space for experimental, unconventional, and independent scholarship. 

Register here.