I am trying v hard to approach my academic sources as neutrally as possible. I also write as neutrally as possible. And then I encounter an esteemed professor who starts his journal article with "I am writing this as a practising shaman myself." - ThreadSky

kariebookish.bsky.social • 2 days ago

I am trying v hard to approach my academic sources as neutrally as possible. I also write as neutrally as possible.

And then I encounter an esteemed professor who starts his journal article with "I am writing this as a practising shaman myself."

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bissonette1920.bsky.social•2 days ago

Trust your instinct.

comradedoctor.bsky.social•2 days ago

I start every paper with "I found the following etched into golden tablets that only i could see."

navalairhistory.com•2 days ago

craftyprimrose.bsky.social•2 days ago

@stephen-jones.bsky.social @hbsj.bsky.social In case you needed a refresher on citations

emilyfwood.bsky.social•2 days ago

I can't speak for religious studies but certainly in my field, acknowledging your own biases and how your own experiences may affect your analysis is not only acceptable but recommended.

propcazhpm.bsky.social•2 days ago

Frankly, it should be the norm.

kariebookish.bsky.social•2 days ago

This is incredibly useful, thank you! Because my first reaction was not kind and I think I needed to hear a different voice on this.

propcazhpm.bsky.social•2 days ago

I've seen these in the intros of academic books (a paragraph) but rarely by folks who really should have included one.

But the main value is how that self-reflection impacts their process, not the published statement itself.

kariebookish.bsky.social•2 days ago

This is good to know. I'm trying to figure out how to approach this article because my knee-jerk reaction is not kind to a white guy writing about being a shaman in a non-white culture. I clearly needed another angle. Yours might be the one I need.

propcazhpm.bsky.social•2 days ago

I'm just glad he recognized it.

kariebookish.bsky.social•2 days ago

Is this "I am a practising shaman myself" typical in religious studies or have I encountered someone whose professional stature is such that he can get anything published?

ncdominie.bsky.social•2 days ago

Honestly would only be slightly surprised to meet this in some areas of maths, because when they break out of the usual "let chi subscript aleph be a non-Garfunkelian rotatory humdudgeon" mode of exposition they are never quite sure how much to share.

acerbicotter.bsky.social•2 days ago

my only theological reading has been of the very anodyne progressive Protestant Christian sort so I would say a qualified "no, it's not typical" but I've not sampled the full smorgasbord

yvonnezlam.bsky.social•2 days ago

A friend who took a course at university from the late J.Z. Smith reported that Dr. Smith once threw himself across the lectern and offered top marks to anyone who could figure out how to sacrifice him according to the directions in Leviticus.

yvonnezlam.bsky.social•2 days ago

(As far as I know, Dr. Smith is the late Dr. Smith for reasons unrelated to Leviticus or marks.)

norahowley.bsky.social•2 days ago

My supervisors at Glasgow (Education) were quite clear that we should be aware of and be able to understand how our perspectives and biases informed our research work. Someone with different view could have done the same focus groups and reached very different conclusions.

henryr0923.bsky.social•2 days ago

Since we can't actually achieve writing neutrally, being transparent about your sources of bias is important so that people can read and interpret your work accurately. At least, this is something we specifically talk about in social work research.

kariebookish.bsky.social•2 days ago

This is incredibly useful for what I'm writing about. Thank you so much.

drmaudbailey.bsky.social•2 days ago

Probably a good thing you're not in my field! Sending sympathy 😊

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