Academic work and imagination: Reflections of an armchair traveler
作者以自民族志方法反思自己在他人发起的研究中作为“扶手椅旅行者”的角色，探讨想象力在分析材料、理论化及写作中的作用，并论证想象力在学术合作中通过慷慨行为得以激发，对理解当前注重绩效的学术环境有启示。
In this paper, I offer an autoethnography of academic work and imagination. I write as an “armchair traveler” who joins others in research endeavors that they have initiated. Imagination takes center stage in what I do: I use my imagination in analyzing empirical materials and in theorizing and writing meaningful research. Together with others, I engage in studies where I am close to the subject of inquiry and feel sameness, but also in research that for me is grounded in difference and otherness. Through my autoethnography, I elucidate the potential and limits of imagination in different research initiatives. Reflecting on my experiences and learning, I discuss how imagination relates to ethico-politics in doing research. I argue that imagination thrives in small acts of generosity in research collaboration, which harbor a sense of togetherness and solidarity. This has implications for understanding academic work that is obsessed with performance in publishing.