The Limitations of Traditional Academic Conventions and an Embrace of Imagistic Communication

Abstract

This chapter discusses the pervasive nature and limitation of traditional forms of academic communication by reflecting on how scientific, impersonal language in highly structured forms can alienate researchers from their personhoods, from the people they study and write about, and from the readers of academic research. It also ponders the myth of neutral research representation, and suggests that feminine forms of communication can offer a more inclusive and expressive alternative to traditional discourse. The chapter further proposes (and illustrates) how imagistic and bicultural form of communication, plump with metaphor and image, can help to reframe the conversation of academic research, in both form and content.