Eng2800: Mapping the Ancient World

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For my discussion based on Ibn Battuta, Travels and The Book of John Mandeville, I am going to talk about the similarities and differences between Ibn Battuta’s Travels and The Book of John Mandeville. Both Battuta and Mandeville travel the across the world to learn about the different cultures and worshipping styles of people from foreign countries. However, the experiences that they face seem to be differ. While Battuta’s experience seems more serene, Mandeville’s experience seems to be more exaggerated. Do you agree with this statement? How does the culture/mindset of the people from Battuta’s story compare to the culture/mindset of the people from Mandeville’s story?

As I was researching the stories, I came across an article online, The Rediscovery of Sir John Mandeville by Josephine Waters Bennett. In this article, Josephine attempts to prove the existence of of John Mandeville because many readers and scholars doubt his existence. “It’s author’s reputation has seesawed with the shifting estimation of his work. His integrity, his identity, his very existence have been questioned.” This article led me to come up with a possible discussion topic. As readers, we cannot fully rely on the accounts of John Mandeville. “John Mandeville reassures us, once again, of the utter reliability of his half-truthful story of wonders” Some sources also argue that John Mandeville did not exist or if he did exist, his travel was not as extensive as he says. Does knowing that John Mandeville’s stories may be a lie, impact us as readers? Or does it not affect us at all?

Hi, my name is Eric Heo. I plan to major in marketing and minor in photography. My favorite book is Room by Emma Donoghue.