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[CCBC-Net] To write cross-cultural or not to write cross-cultural, that is the question...
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From: RUKHSANA KHAN <irrualli>
Date: Tue, 30 Jan 2001 09:47:00 -0800
Dear Ms. Whitesel,
I haven't read your book, nor am I an expert in Tibet culture circa 1904, and so ofcourse can't comment on the authenticity of your writing from outside your realm.
But you said something I wanted to respond to. In stating why you were qualified to write about Tibet you said:
(I lived in
I think those factors can help you understand your subject matter, but I don't think there's any substitute for living in the place you're writing about--and I mean living there for a substantial amount of time. And interviewing 'exiled' Tibetans can give you a skewed perspective of what things were like there. If they are in exile, it means they were disgruntled enough, by the conditions, to leave Tibet. Their opinions may or may not reflect actual life inside Tibet.
I don't think anyone expects perfection from people writing outside their culture. Perfection in representing the realities of all members of a culture is impossible anyway. Cultures are hardly homogenous. They are composed of individuals with individual perspectives that seldom mesh perfectly. The best one can hope for is to be fair.
Just my two cents.
Rukhsana Khan
Received on Tue 30 Jan 2001 11:47:00 AM CST
Date: Tue, 30 Jan 2001 09:47:00 -0800
Dear Ms. Whitesel,
I haven't read your book, nor am I an expert in Tibet culture circa 1904, and so ofcourse can't comment on the authenticity of your writing from outside your realm.
But you said something I wanted to respond to. In stating why you were qualified to write about Tibet you said:
(I lived in
I think those factors can help you understand your subject matter, but I don't think there's any substitute for living in the place you're writing about--and I mean living there for a substantial amount of time. And interviewing 'exiled' Tibetans can give you a skewed perspective of what things were like there. If they are in exile, it means they were disgruntled enough, by the conditions, to leave Tibet. Their opinions may or may not reflect actual life inside Tibet.
I don't think anyone expects perfection from people writing outside their culture. Perfection in representing the realities of all members of a culture is impossible anyway. Cultures are hardly homogenous. They are composed of individuals with individual perspectives that seldom mesh perfectly. The best one can hope for is to be fair.
Just my two cents.
Rukhsana Khan
Received on Tue 30 Jan 2001 11:47:00 AM CST
