The discussion has begun on Donald Hall's primer for the new academic, The Academic Self (Columbus: Ohio State UP, 2002).

The discussion is exciting to me in part because the author was on the search committee that hired me, and really helped convince me that this new position will be a good fit. But name-dropping aside, most of my readers know the degree to which I espouse the notion of identity performance, one that Hall leans heavily upon. Moreover, given the new start that I'll be embarking upon (am embarking upon?), I feel like some attention to how I craft my academic self--how I perform that role--in the next year will be crucial to any career as an academic Imight be able to carve out for myself.