Mired in Fragments

One of the great challenges (and probably benefits) of being overseas doing research is that there are so few distractions from work. In fact, there’s a significant motivation to work because you’re away from home and spending precious grant money. Working without distractions and with a significant impetus is great, but it also has certain drawbacks. 

Right now, I’m feeling mired. It’s hot, the work is slow, and pay-offs are few and far between. So much of what we’re doing is attempting to produce a narrative from disparate fragments. I’ve spent that last month amid pieces of pottery, stratigraphic units, architectural fragments, and notebooks.

The great thing about fragments is that they hold the potential for (seemingly?) unlimited combinations. The bad things is that being immersed in the boundlessness of it can lead to the kind of ambivalence that makes producing new knowledge difficult. 

(It also makes blogging difficult.)

(The heat also makes blogging difficult.)