Angel raises some interesting problems in her own attempts to formulate a
self-reflective stance on her own work. Indeed Angel's second-hand
account of Jay's attempt poses some problems that I too have groped with.
I had the good fortune of not having to work very hard to include myself
in my dissertation, My role in it naturally unfolded in the development
of the argument. Perhaps unlike most dissertations, my dissertation is a
"good story" with multiple plots, conflicts, and resolutions. However,
Two of my committee members chastized me for the somber and introspective
tone of my concluding chapter of my dissertation.
Alas, in addition to deleting the author and the history of professional
work - We delete "the story." Martin Packer was part of a really neat
session two years ago at AERA (sorry don't have time to dig up the
specifics.) In that session everyone "revealed" their inner secrets of
their work.