I already asked this a few days ago under a different title, but got no answer. So I figured I'd ask again and hope for the best.
I am currently writing a master's thesis on the battle of Acre during the Third Crusade. More specifically, I am comparing the European discourse with some of the more prolific Arab writers of the period such as Baha al-Din Ibn Shaddad and Ibn al-Athir.
However, I am having trouble formulating a hypothesis, which is a requirement. I was wondering if the sub could help me out by pointing me in the direction of some works that have a similair goal (comparing two culturally distinct discourses on a singular event) so that I could see what those authors came up with.
If the sub has any other useful remarks, I'd be glad to hear them.
Have you been through the back issues of the journal Medieval Encounters? (or online on Brill or EBSCOhost). It's basically an entire journal about Christian/Muslims/Jews involved in the same things or talking about each other. That's the first thing I'd do.
In reading the two to compare and constrast, you come up with a list of ways the accounts are similar and different, right? At that point, it seems to me like you have basic two choices. Use the historical context to explain the similarities and differences, or use the similarities and differences (...situated in historical context) to explain something new about the historical context. One is definitely more exciting than the other!
Would you like to stick around AskHistorians? We get a decent amount of questions about the Crusades, and most of us who answer them are really only Crusades/medieval Islam hobbyists. It would be awesome to have an expert. :)