Describing a foreign culture: Each of these documents was written by an outsider to the people or society he is describing. What different postures toward these foreign cultures are evident in the sources? How did the travelers’ various religions shape their perception of places they visited? How did they view the women of their host societies? Were these travelers more impressed by the similarities or by the differences between their home cultures and the ones they visited?
Defining the self-perception of authors: What can we learn from these documents about the men who wrote them? What motivated them to travel so far from home? How did they define themselves in relationship to the societies they observed?
Assessing the credibility of sources: What information in these sources would be most valuable for historians seeking to understand India, China, and West Africa in the third-wave era? What statements in these sources might be viewed with the most skepticism? You will want to consider the authors’ purposes and their intended audiences in evaluating their writings.
Considering outsiders’ accounts: What are the advantages and limitations for historians in drawing on the writings of foreign observers?