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Legitimizations and subversions of the Open: for an analysis of openwashing in scientific publishing

We warmly invite you to the ninth event in the lecture series Open Divide – Critical Studies on Open Access, taking place on January 28, 2026, 5 pm CET. We are delighted to welcome Chérifa Boukacem-Zeghmouri and Guillaume Silhol and look forward to their lecture, “Legitimizations and subversions of the Open: for an analysis of openwashing in scientific publishing”. In their talk, they explore openwashing as a concept to analyse the gap between Open Access rhetoric and actual publishing practices in science.

👉Abstract
Based on a critical state of the art on deviant uses of Open Access in scientific publishing, this contribution establishes openwashing as an analytical category. Examining the trajectory of the term between hacktivist culture and rhetoric uses of Open Access, the benefits and limits of analogies, we conceive openwashing as a stenographic concept that sheds light on different phenomena: decoupling between openness policies and organizational practices in scientific publishing, ordinary discourse of denunciation of such dissociations, and low-key deviances in the uses of Open Access.

👉 About Guillaume Silhol

Guillaume Silhol is a postdoctoral researcher working in the ANR project ROR2, affiliated with the research unit in communication and information sciences ELICO (EA 4147) at the University Claude Bernard of Lyon-1. His research topics focus on governance and controversies over the production of knowledge and expertise, currently on Open Science policies and publishing practices.

👉 About Chérifa Boukacem-Zeghmouri

Chérifa Boukacem-Zeghmouri is Full Professor of Information and Communication Sciences at Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1 and a member of the Elico research team. Drawing on the theoretical framework of the political economy of science, her research examines how scholarly communication has evolved towards more open and collaborative models. Her main research interests address scientific knowledge production, circulation, assessment and legitimation She is or has been involved in national and international research projects funded by ANR, UFA, CHIST ERA and Sloan Foundation. She is the coordinator of ROR² research project.

👉 Registration Link
https://unilu.webex.com/weblink/register/r1a8cc50eb710c6e85afeff82832ad1a1

👉 Please see also the full overview of all upcoming talks in the series.

We’re very much looking forward to her contribution and the opportunity to welcome participants from around the globe.


OpenEdition suggests that you cite this post as follows:
Ulrich Herb (December 9, 2025). Legitimizations and subversions of the Open: for an analysis of openwashing in scientific publishing. Open Divide. Retrieved April 10, 2026 from https://opendivide.hypotheses.org/779


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