Universal textbooks (Language Programs, Books & Tapes) Language Learning Forum

Universal textbooks
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Language Learning Forum : Language Programs, Books & Tapes

Delodephius Bilingual Tetraglot Senior Member Yugoslavia Joined 5214 days ago 342 posts - 501 votes Speaks: Slovak, Serbo-Croatian, English^C1, Czech Studies: Russian, Japanese	Message 1 of 3 21 August 2011 at 11:42pm \| IP Logged
	I'm looking for a publisher or an institution of some sort that publishes textbooks of which contents is objective. Let me explain. I grew up in a Balkan country, and in school when we studied history we didn't learn about the past from an objectively-oriented textbook, but from one that served a certain state propaganda. And each country in the Balkans has its own textbooks that propagated their own state's version of history. Does there exists in the Balkans a textbook that is not biased then? But here I ask about textbooks on a global scale. For instance, is there a book written somewhere that is aimed for a global audience? When I take a children's encyclopaedia of history from a shelf in my bookshop, let's say it is a translation of some western encyclopaedia as most of them are, then the predominant listing of events or historical figures are of those from western countries. So I ask, is there an encyclopaedia in which the events and figures are listed in proportion to their number, rather than importance for any particular country or civilization? And not just textbooks on history, but any science or philosophy, like medicine, law, physics, etc. Let's say a textbook that would contain in it stuff that would be equally alien and familiar to anyone from any place on Earth. Edited by Delodephius on 21 August 2011 at 11:44pm 2 persons have voted this message useful
Volte Tetraglot Senior Member Switzerland Joined 6250 days ago 4474 posts - 6726 votes Speaks: English*, Esperanto, German, Italian Studies: French, Finnish, Mandarin, Japanese	Message 2 of 3 22 August 2011 at 12:33am \| IP Logged
	If there are any, I would also like to hear about them. The closest I've found is Esperanto. It's not a textbook, nor free of biases, but Esperanto wikipedia and published (original and translated) literature in Esperanto approaches that ideal more closely than anything else I've seen. Literature from smaller languages is way more represented than in any other language I've seen. The second best thing I've found, and it's complimentary to the first, is reading a variety of sources with different biases in English. Translations from different areas, and to an extent contemporary media for an international audience from various continents tend to have the kinds of bias you mention, but at least it's an accessible way to find out about some major parts of history which are rarely addressed in textbooks in ones' home country. For science, popular science books, lectures, papers, and textbooks in English are the way to go, along with a few books on the history of the development of science in various parts of the world. For other fields, it's more difficult. Law varies drastically from place to place and over time; so does medicine. For philosophy, there is absolutely no true alternative to reading in a wide range of languages. Edit: for concrete books in science, I strongly recommend almost anything by Richard Feynman, especially "The Feynman Lectures on Physics". Edited by Volte on 22 August 2011 at 12:42am 1 person has voted this message useful
Kartof Bilingual Triglot Senior Member United States Joined 4877 days ago 391 posts - 550 votes Speaks: English, Bulgarian, Spanish Studies: Danish	Message 3 of 3 22 August 2011 at 12:38am \| IP Logged
	Well, I had a textbook called "Traditions and Encounters" on world history. It's very objective and provides history from an international standpoint as opposed to the standpoints of national states. On the other hand, it was biased to talking more about larger countries and empires, whether it be China, India, or Europe, but also talked about African states, American states, and Austronesian societies. I would also recommend reading any textbook by Howard Zinn. He was a very objective history book writer and I've found that he even explicitly states the possible biases that history writers face. Reading books by him would definitely help you learn more about the subject of biases in history. 1 person has voted this message useful

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Delodephius Bilingual Tetraglot Senior Member Yugoslavia Joined 5214 days ago 342 posts - 501 votes Speaks: Slovak, Serbo-Croatian, English^C1, Czech Studies: Russian, Japanese	Message 1 of 3 21 August 2011 at 11:42pm \| IP Logged
	I'm looking for a publisher or an institution of some sort that publishes textbooks of which contents is objective. Let me explain. I grew up in a Balkan country, and in school when we studied history we didn't learn about the past from an objectively-oriented textbook, but from one that served a certain state propaganda. And each country in the Balkans has its own textbooks that propagated their own state's version of history. Does there exists in the Balkans a textbook that is not biased then? But here I ask about textbooks on a global scale. For instance, is there a book written somewhere that is aimed for a global audience? When I take a children's encyclopaedia of history from a shelf in my bookshop, let's say it is a translation of some western encyclopaedia as most of them are, then the predominant listing of events or historical figures are of those from western countries. So I ask, is there an encyclopaedia in which the events and figures are listed in proportion to their number, rather than importance for any particular country or civilization? And not just textbooks on history, but any science or philosophy, like medicine, law, physics, etc. Let's say a textbook that would contain in it stuff that would be equally alien and familiar to anyone from any place on Earth. Edited by Delodephius on 21 August 2011 at 11:44pm 2 persons have voted this message useful
Volte Tetraglot Senior Member Switzerland Joined 6250 days ago 4474 posts - 6726 votes Speaks: English*, Esperanto, German, Italian Studies: French, Finnish, Mandarin, Japanese	Message 2 of 3 22 August 2011 at 12:33am \| IP Logged
	If there are any, I would also like to hear about them. The closest I've found is Esperanto. It's not a textbook, nor free of biases, but Esperanto wikipedia and published (original and translated) literature in Esperanto approaches that ideal more closely than anything else I've seen. Literature from smaller languages is way more represented than in any other language I've seen. The second best thing I've found, and it's complimentary to the first, is reading a variety of sources with different biases in English. Translations from different areas, and to an extent contemporary media for an international audience from various continents tend to have the kinds of bias you mention, but at least it's an accessible way to find out about some major parts of history which are rarely addressed in textbooks in ones' home country. For science, popular science books, lectures, papers, and textbooks in English are the way to go, along with a few books on the history of the development of science in various parts of the world. For other fields, it's more difficult. Law varies drastically from place to place and over time; so does medicine. For philosophy, there is absolutely no true alternative to reading in a wide range of languages. Edit: for concrete books in science, I strongly recommend almost anything by Richard Feynman, especially "The Feynman Lectures on Physics". Edited by Volte on 22 August 2011 at 12:42am 1 person has voted this message useful
Kartof Bilingual Triglot Senior Member United States Joined 4877 days ago 391 posts - 550 votes Speaks: English, Bulgarian, Spanish Studies: Danish	Message 3 of 3 22 August 2011 at 12:38am \| IP Logged
	Well, I had a textbook called "Traditions and Encounters" on world history. It's very objective and provides history from an international standpoint as opposed to the standpoints of national states. On the other hand, it was biased to talking more about larger countries and empires, whether it be China, India, or Europe, but also talked about African states, American states, and Austronesian societies. I would also recommend reading any textbook by Howard Zinn. He was a very objective history book writer and I've found that he even explicitly states the possible biases that history writers face. Reading books by him would definitely help you learn more about the subject of biases in history. 1 person has voted this message useful