Editor’s Note

Anonymity provides individuals the opportunity to speak truth to power—as well as to speak nonsense to anyone who will listen. In some areas of public life, anonymity is essential; in other areas, its merits are far less clear. In the political arena, for example, it is essential that citizens in a free society have the opportunity to select political representation without anyone—including colleagues, neighbors, friends, and even family—knowing their choices. The right to vote only requires that you make a choice—not that you justify it or even be accountable for it. Ballots are cast anonymously in political elections primarily to protect the electorate against reprisal for nonsupport. If elected representatives knew who voted for them—and against them—there would always be the opportunity for tyranny and exploitation.

It is one thing to cast a ballot anonymously, it is another thing to express an opinion on a person, event, or institution without revealing your identity. Unlike voting, the expression of an opinion comes with an expectation of revealed identity. Freedom of speech means just this: individuals can and should express their views to the fullest extent of their ability—and do so without fear of persecution. When the name of the source of the expression is withheld, it raises questions about the reliability of the source. Furthermore, as in the case of casting a ballot anonymously, it obviates the need to justify or be accountable for the opinion.

While it is obvious why a reporter might want to keep their sources anonymous (for example, to protect them from reprisal for whistle-blowing), it is not so obvious why student evaluations need to be anonymous. Or why peer review of manuscripts needs to be anonymous. The essays in this issue examine the nature and limits of anonymity in public and academic life. In sum, they provide us with a better understanding of the social, economic, political, and intellectual dimensions of anonymity in contemporary public and academic culture. They reveal how anonymity affects reading, writing, and teaching practices, as well as other aspects of academic performance such as tenure and publication review. Understanding the cultural and philosophical dimensions of anonymity are essential in a world that seems to be disseminating more and more anonymous discourse.

Currently, two issues are in preparation. The first issue is entitled Gaming and Theory (Vol. 17, Nos. 1–2 (2009)). This issue will include contributions that engage the various intersections of the idea and practice of digital gaming and critical theory. Topics will range from gaming and postmodernism, the politics of gaming, gaming and cultural studies, and gaming and philosophy, to gaming and narrative theory, gaming and globalization, gaming and pedagogical theory, and gaming and media theory. Submission deadline: closed.

The second issue under preparation is entitled Emotions (Vol. 18, No. 1 (2010)). Welcome are contributions that engage the role of the emotions in contemporary critical theory and practice. Are there particular emotions critics or theorists feel? Are criticism and sympathy mutually exclusive? What is the place of emotions in posthumanism? Are we returning to an aesthetics of feelings? Is this a new aesthetics? To what extent are feelings and sentiments back in the focus of critical inquiry? What does the exploration of emotional representation look like after the global turn in theory? What does it mean to feel for the other in the age of transnationalism? What is the place of emotion after the postmodern deconstruction of the sentimental subject? Submission deadline: 1 January 2010.

I would like to thank the contributors to this issue for sharing their work on anonymity with us. Thanks also go out to David C. Felts for his careful and expert attention to all aspects of the production of this issue; our new editorial assistant, Katie Lauren Moody; Sandra Wood and Sunitha Subbaiah for administrative assistance; and to UHV for providing financial support to our editorial office and staff. In addition, as always, I would like to thank the members of our advisory board for their help in the preparation of this issue.