I appreciate that Edouard you didn't mean anything against human (and
women's) rights when you wrote your message... but I'm afraid I cannot
agree with all of your points, and it's not for argument's sake... I fear
that there can be grave consequences of some of our popular notions...
(1) Well, have you/ or other xmca-ers come across any studies about
moslem women that Ed you so specifically chose to illustrate your point?
Without concrete embodied situations and people speaking for themselves,
I just cannot take your word for it you know...
(2) your signature line is kind of cute, but I cannot agree to it,
either... well, we do not always voice our ideas because we want to
propagate them as "universal truth"... well, I certainly don't want
myself to be doing that... I'll try not to... I want genuine
communication and understanding and interaction: what I say, I always
view as temporarily representing how something looks to me... and throw it
out to stimulate discussions... certainly without any claim to "universal
truth"... Edouard, are you too pessimistic about the possibility of
genunine communication and interaction? And not all discourse is
propaganda of one's own agenda! (though there certainly exist such
discourses).
(3) our critical approach to history and in general social phenonema....
I think i agree with you on this point... but to further the discussions,
problematizing knowledge and knowledge production/construction/
representation is just the first step... to make our discussions
fruitful, we need to explore further what kind of epistemological
approaches would avoid the kind of pitfalls you mentioned... it involves
not only theoretical issues, but very practical research methodology
questions, and questions of how to establish credibility of research
findings... these things are surely complex enough to be a PH.D.
dissertation in itself... and since you're done with yours :-) and I'm
still writing up mine... so, we'll leave it to others to continue with
the discussions... how about that? :-)
Best wishes,
Angel
*****************************************************************
Angel M.Y. Lin
Doctoral Candidate
Modern Language Centre
Ontario Institute for Studies in Education
252 Bloor St. W., Toronto, ON M5S 1V6, Canada
E-Mail: MYLIN who-is-at OISE.ON.CA
*******************************************************************
Oh, East is East, and West is West, and never the twain shall meet,
Till Earth and Sky stand presently at God's great Judgment Seat;
But there is neither East nor West, Border, nor Breed, nor Birth,
When ... we stand face to face in the cyber space? ...
--Adapted from: The Ballad of East and West, Rudyard Kipling
*******************************************************************