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Professor Pedantic 教授的考究學問
【學術專欄】
TPS的編輯教授在此歡迎關於學術文章的所有詢問，當然，其實他並沒有足夠的時間給你。他擁有終身教職的教授身份，也是著名的學術巨作作者。即便如此，他仍大方地接受你們的詢問。將關於學術方面的詢問寫在下方，你將獲得教授的親自指導，陶冶對學術的探索與啟發。
The professor awaits your query on academic writing, though in all honesty, he doesn’t have a lot of time for you. He is a tenured full professor and working on yet another magnificent academic tome. Even so, he has graciously consented to entertain your question. Submit it and prepare to be edified.
QUESTION: I want to write a paper on the character of Emily Dickinson. However, her life was so different from mine that I fear I will not be able to grasp the totality of her being. Should I write about someone whose life more closely mirrors my own?
我想寫一篇探討Emily Dickinson人格的文章，不過她的生活經驗與我實在相差太遠，我很擔心無法捕捉到她的全貌。我是不是該研究另一個生活體驗與我較相似的對象？
The American poet Emily Dickinson was an eccentric personality, of that there is no doubt. She was a slow starter and something of a misfit. She squirreled herself away as a young woman to write intense poems about men and love and God and other things of which she clearly knew nothing, being a recluse. You say you aren’t much like her? Well, good for you.
美國女詩人Emily Dickinson為人特立獨行，這點無庸置疑。她並非早慧的天才，而且與週遭環境有點格格不入，年紀輕輕就一點一滴地創作尖銳的詩篇，抒寫人類、愛、上帝，與世隔絕的她，還寫了許多顯然她一無所知的事物，你說你和她沒有共通之處嗎？算你運氣好。
But that is the whole point, isn’t it? Unlike novelists, who often are encouraged to write about what they know so they can create authentic fiction from personal knowledge, academic writers are required to venture into the unknown. They are entrusted with the greater task of conceiving, developing and justifying an idea. It needn’t be an idea fondly held by the writer. In fact, a topic’s strangeness—which is to say, the writer’s unfamiliarity with it—can be an asset, because it forces more thorough research.
不過研究不就是這麼回事嗎？研究者跟小說家不一樣，小說家常被鼓勵書寫已知的事物，好從個人經驗中創造出有說服力的幻想作品；但學術論文的作者則必須探索未知的事物，因為他們背負著萌生想法、加以發展並證實的重責大任。這些想法作者本人未必喜歡。事實上一個主題若是顯得陌生—也就是說，不是作者熟悉的題材—反而會是研究的好對象，因為作者將會不得不更深入探索。
So, personally not identifying with Emily Dickinson is no more a liability for you than personally not having stepped on the moon is for a writer psychoanalyzing an astronaut. Fresh thinking on any subject, when buttressed by comprehensive research and clear and forceful writing, is not dependent upon one’s personal identification with the subject. Just proceed with an open mind, and relish discovery. You might find you have more in common with Ms. Dickinson than you think.
所以跟Emily Dickinson缺乏交集並非研究上的障礙，就像作家不需要親自登陸月球，照樣能對太空人作心理分析。只要你有詳盡的研究與清晰有力的文章做基礎，未必要認同研究對象本人，也能在任何主題表現充滿新意的作品。只要抱持著開放的心胸，享受發現的快樂，也許你會發現，其實你和這位女詩人的共通處意外地多。
The professor awaits your query on academic writing, though in all honesty, he doesn’t have a lot of time for you. He is a tenured full professor and working on yet another magnificent academic tome. Even so, he has graciously consented to entertain your question. Submit it and prepare to be edified.
QUESTION: I want to write a paper on the character of Emily Dickinson. However, her life was so different from mine that I fear I will not be able to grasp the totality of her being. Should I write about someone whose life more closely mirrors my own?
我想寫一篇探討Emily Dickinson人格的文章，不過她的生活經驗與我實在相差太遠，我很擔心無法捕捉到她的全貌。我是不是該研究另一個生活體驗與我較相似的對象？
The American poet Emily Dickinson was an eccentric personality, of that there is no doubt. She was a slow starter and something of a misfit. She squirreled herself away as a young woman to write intense poems about men and love and God and other things of which she clearly knew nothing, being a recluse. You say you aren’t much like her? Well, good for you.
美國女詩人Emily Dickinson為人特立獨行，這點無庸置疑。她並非早慧的天才，而且與週遭環境有點格格不入，年紀輕輕就一點一滴地創作尖銳的詩篇，抒寫人類、愛、上帝，與世隔絕的她，還寫了許多顯然她一無所知的事物，你說你和她沒有共通之處嗎？算你運氣好。
But that is the whole point, isn’t it? Unlike novelists, who often are encouraged to write about what they know so they can create authentic fiction from personal knowledge, academic writers are required to venture into the unknown. They are entrusted with the greater task of conceiving, developing and justifying an idea. It needn’t be an idea fondly held by the writer. In fact, a topic’s strangeness—which is to say, the writer’s unfamiliarity with it—can be an asset, because it forces more thorough research.
不過研究不就是這麼回事嗎？研究者跟小說家不一樣，小說家常被鼓勵書寫已知的事物，好從個人經驗中創造出有說服力的幻想作品；但學術論文的作者則必須探索未知的事物，因為他們背負著萌生想法、加以發展並證實的重責大任。這些想法作者本人未必喜歡。事實上一個主題若是顯得陌生—也就是說，不是作者熟悉的題材—反而會是研究的好對象，因為作者將會不得不更深入探索。
So, personally not identifying with Emily Dickinson is no more a liability for you than personally not having stepped on the moon is for a writer psychoanalyzing an astronaut. Fresh thinking on any subject, when buttressed by comprehensive research and clear and forceful writing, is not dependent upon one’s personal identification with the subject. Just proceed with an open mind, and relish discovery. You might find you have more in common with Ms. Dickinson than you think.
所以跟Emily Dickinson缺乏交集並非研究上的障礙，就像作家不需要親自登陸月球，照樣能對太空人作心理分析。只要你有詳盡的研究與清晰有力的文章做基礎，未必要認同研究對象本人，也能在任何主題表現充滿新意的作品。只要抱持著開放的心胸，享受發現的快樂，也許你會發現，其實你和這位女詩人的共通處意外地多。
