I've just finished writing that "reflexive" part I've told you
about earlier... (and I found it emotionally draining to write it..)
I've re-read Judy's message (thanks Judy), and I'd like to add some
clarifying elaborations...
(a) I think making explicit the links between one's sociocultural history
and socioeconomic postion on the one hand and one's research work/perspectives
on the other is not easy but would be a worthwhile task; others can contest
our interpretations (of how our positions have influenced our research)
but our interpretations could form the point of departure for further
discussions and examination...
(b) I certainly hope that everybody has a history and position that they're
not afraid to show to the public... what I was sayingis, if anyone happened
to have a history that might cast her/him in a "bad" light ("bad" with
respect to the current social norms of the dominant group, for example),
then this would impose a constraint on the readiness of the researcher
to reveal her/his history in her/his work because that might have some
unfavorable consequences... and this is a tough part of reality that we
have to deal with when we explore how one can engage in practical
reflexive research writing...
(c) I'm saying this because I happen to have some unpleasant
experiences in my academic life and it was depressing enough just to
bring them to recollection, not to mention critically analysing them and
writing them out for the public eye... However, on
the other hand, I'm also keenly aware of the ways these experiences have
affected why I chose what I chose to study and my research and analytical
perspectives...
(d) But I've just finished this tough part, which was depressing and
emotionally draining, but not impossible... I don't know what the
External Examiner would think about it, but I choose to include that
into my dissertation because I think that would help one to understand
my dissertation better...
(e) I've read Edouard's dissertation and I think he has done something
along this line... it's at once a very personal and very "academic"
account, at once very involved but also very detached... an interesting and
revealing one...! Not easy to do though... (as if one has split into
two: an insider and an outsider both AT THE SAME TIME!)
Best,
Angel