Mentors and Muses

摘要

Every research project has its sources of inspiration, almost always in the lived experience of its author or authors. The luckiest of scholars, however, also have mentors or muses: that is, individuals in the field who advise or guide the scholar through one or more stages of a research project. This could be, for example, a prominent and prolific researcher who delivers a stirring presentation at a conference and encourages you to initiate study of a related topic, or a wise friend who engages in a series of e-mail exchanges with you or ongoing conversations about your project, or a conscientious colleague who offers comments on the earliest versions of your manuscript. Their impact on the final published project might be briefly cited in acknowledgments, but the nature and scope of this influence is typically invisible.