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When we think about gatekeeping in scholarship, it is kind of like trying to think about ‘children’s literature’. We have two ill-defined terms that we have to define before we can even have a conversation about it. 1/n
For this thread, I will use ‘scholarship’ to mean adding to knowledge about a topic, and ‘academic scholarship’ to mean adding to knowledge by means typically associated with universities and educational institutions. 2/n
When it comes to general scholarship, it is my opinion that many fans engage in it and do so very well. They are finding resources and making a case for their own thoughts, and then communicating those thoughts to others in a way that broadens understanding. 3/n
To me, gatekeeping in this area occurs when someone refuses or denigrates an idea simply because it challenges already held ideas or because it is uncomfortable. It is because people are invested in thinking about something a certain way. 4/n
What I don't see as gatekeeping is looking at the text in various ways and determining how different views are complementary or in conflict. This is not the same as simply rejecting a view, but looking at how it can exist at the same time as, but not overlap with, others. 5/n
In other words, being descriptive of ways that a text can be interpreted instead of prescriptive about ways a text /should/ be interpreted largely keeps people from gatekeeping. 6/n
In terms of ‘academic scholarship’ we have to walk a tightrope between having high standards and gatekeeping. High standards are important for several reasons. (Remember, everything that follows is about creating scholarship intended for an academic outlet.) 7/n
Notably, this avenue is largely concerned with finding new information that is reliable. This means that someone should demonstrate the novelty of their approach largely by showing an awareness of other approaches. 8/n
This serious attention to previous approaches (prior academic scholarship) also helps to validate the claim. It shows that the researcher has done enough work to show how and why their approach is warranted. 9/n
If a piece does not show an awareness of prior academic scholarship, it often demonstrates that they are unaware of ongoing conversations in the field. Editors will often recommend that the author review scholarship and update their piece before publication. 10/n
I know that grasping at ‘standards’ is the defense of many gatekeepers; however, I find that these same people often have ill-defined and fluctuating standards depending on the topic and how much they agree with what is written. 11/n
Gatekeeping takes many forms in academic scholarship. I think the most inexcusable is that which judges material based on the author (their credentials or demographic information). This is kind of ad hominem fallacy writ large: you cannot be correct because of who you are. 12/n
Another type of gatekeeping occurs when whole fields seem ill-disposed to listen to other fields (there are always individuals who break these generalizations). The low-hanging fruit here is the way that Tolkien was not considered 'literature' for a long time. 13/n
There are many types of gatekeeping and to list them all would take too long to do. I welcome comments extending this list, and I am sure that others are more well-positioned to critique it than I am. 14/n
I did want to take a moment to talk about how this overlaps with academic scholarship of Tolkien: It is at an important point in history when it is becoming more acceptable in academic circles (though it is still not as respected as academic scholarship on other authors). 15/n
Much of Tolkien scholarship started outside of academia. It then started trying to break into academic scholarship in the form of articles and book publications. This was a long and difficult process to gain respectability in academia. 16/n
We could say that academic scholarship on Tolkien is finally being recognized as important in many circles. With this new status, though, comes the increasing responsibility to not remake ourselves in the image of those academics who were our gatekeepers. 17/n
We need to make sure that we hold the gate open to the people behind us. The would-be academic scholars of genre fiction and other popular authors. We cannot be dragons, hoarding the gold that we have found. 18/n
