S. Worthen | Weblog

I like your argument, and it's one I can use to justify my work to many people. The complication is that I was asked the question of why my work is important by a fellow historian, a senior academic, someone who already understands the importance of history in general. Thus, her concern is really why is my work in particular important to other historians in particular. I suspect it's a question we'll each have to grapple with at some point: it strikes me as perfect interview-fodder for job-finding.

What qualifies as important is so subjective. What qualifies as a good answer entirely depends on who I am talking to.

Your answer also emphasizes how important it is to give conference papers and public. If our research isn't accessible, isn't known about, it'll never have the chance to be important.