Comparing two thinkers on a specific topic
Choosing one thinker from column A, and one from column B, discuss each in relation to one of the following ideas: tradition, Self/Other, authority, or resistance.
A
Marco Polo
Dante
Montesquieu
B
al-Farabi
Rumi
Jahan Malek Khatun
Hafez
Ibn Battuta
In your discussion, you should provide:
1. A summary of what thinker A can help us understand about the chosen idea
2. A summary of how thinker B may help us understand the same idea differently
3. Your own understanding of the idea, from a contemporary perspective
Sample Solution
Comparing two thinkers on a specific topic
Marco Polo (1254-1324) was a Venetian merchant believed to have journeyed across Asia at the height of the Mongol Empire. At the height of the Mongol Empire, Marco Polo served Emperor Kublai Khan in China and returned to Venice to write an account of his experiences that would give Europeans some of their earliest information about China. Marco Polo brought back the idea of paper money and some think his description of coal, eyeglasses and a complex postal system eventually led to their widespread use in Europe. Marco Polo`s book inspired Christopher Columbus and other explorers to begin their own adventures.
