Introduction

I begin with history, a personal history that locates my academic journey. I first track how I found my way into a life of university teaching and research and how I make sense of those travels. Turning next to the key principles informing my research, I identify what I’ve come to believe and where I currently dwell. In the last part of this introduction, I give a narrative account of each of the book’s four sections and their accompanying essays. My aim is to provide a logic informing my selection of the included pieces. In general, then, I chart an historical overview to establish my academic background and to present a context for reading the incorporated essays. This introduction, this way in, is organized into three sections: Educational travels, Academic dwellings, and Accounts from the field.