9369: RE: 9348: Questions for the list (especially academics) (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Karen Davis <kdavis@marygrove.edu>

RE: Haitians writing about Haiti:

I myself usually prefer to look first at material written by an "insider" to
a nation or culture. However, if what I want is to learn about, say, the
history of tourism, or a critical overview of literature, or a study of
philosophical values, or a comparative study of music, then perhaps there is
not a good source available in English by the "insider" scholars. If there
is, I'm thrilled.
But I know it is a common if unconscious bias. Even this week a dean here
recommended to me a book on Islam written by a Western Christian woman whose
first language is not Arabic and who is not Muslim. I thanked him politely,
but would never use that book, if avoidable, as a sole or major source, and,
in the case of introductory books on Islam, there are many excellent ones
written by Muslim scholars of religion, theologians, sociologists or
historians.

Karen F. Davis, Ph.D.
Associate Professor and Head of Humanities Department
Marygrove College
Detroit, Michigan 48221 USA
Telephone: 313-927-1352
email: kdavis@marygrove.edu