Communicational devices and the production of imaginaries: the case of scientific journals

Abstract

From the French tradition of discourse analysis (AD), this article aims at reflecting upon notes of journal’s peer review forms from the Instituto de Estudos Brasileiros (IEB/USP) and the Graduate Program in Geogra- phy of FFLCH-USP, GEOUSP: Espaço e Tempo, mobilizing the notion of device recently developed by Jean-Jacques Courtine (2013). It focuses the imaginary of science which is (re)built up from the way the editorial processes occurs and characterizes the scientific communication, weaving what Dominique Maingueneau (2006) considers as a discursive institution. On the basis of considerations of the research entitled Editorial genetic rites and scientific communication: a review of activity in journals, this work intended to highlight the configuration of these journals as communicative devices. Therefore, some evidences are presented of the constitution of this imaginary by showing some editorial genetic rites adopted in the journal’s editorial mediation processes. So far, this investigation proves that some dimensions of the editorial mediation are guided by the imaginary of science which puts academic knowledge into public circulation.

Keywords

• Scientific journals
• Communicational devices
• Editorial mediation
• Scientific communication
• Editorial genetic rites
• Imaginary