Some Aspects of Current Discourse on Knowledge Production and Knowledge Exchange between 'East' and 'West'

Författare

Barbara Schulte

Summary, in English

Increasing international and, often, cross-cultural contacts and exchanges in all spheres of human activity have created a world in which the access to other, alternative knowledge pools seems to be easier than ever before. Science in particular, or, more generally, fields of knowledge creation, are considered to have greatly benefited from this global inter-connectedness. At the same time, we can witness processes of nationalisation within the science discourses of non-'Western' countries as well as (often officially supported) revivals of indigenous, non-'Western' forms of knowledge. Occasionally, these trends are framed in a strongly anti-'Western' outlook.

The paper aims at shedding some light on the current discourse on 'Eastern' and 'Western' knowledge production and knowledge exchange within the humanities, investigating the arguments which are employed when one system of science is being scrutinised and evaluated by the other. It will be shown that in the course of these reception and evaluation processes, the arguments often rely heavily on the a priori construction of 'East' and 'West', thus leading to very specific and selective perceptions of the respective science systems and paradigms. In spite or, maybe, because of many scholars' international engagement, it is, above all, the episteme of 'difference' (between 'East' and 'West') that pervades cross-cultural dialogue on knowledge.

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