From Difference to Connection
7 MINUTE READ Author Across Cultures Yang-May Ooi’s trail of her Hakka roots takes her to Jonathan Spence’s book God’s Chinese Son, the true story of Hong Xiuquan, who believed he was Jesus’s younger brother. In this extraordinary real life history, Spence weaves a tale of Christianity, Chinese religion and political discontent that all came... Continue Reading →
7 MINUTE READ Yang-May Ooi explores Wilfred Thesiger’s classic travel book Arabian Sands through the restless man at its centre. Born in Africa but educated in England, Thesiger never seemed entirely at home in the modern British world he inherited. Was his great journey across the Empty Quarter also a lifelong search for somewhere he... Continue Reading →
10 MINUTE READ Author Across Cultures, Yang-May Ooi, is prompted to expand her worldview after reading David Goodhart's "The Road to Somewhere". From her habitual globalist, cross-cultural perspective, she finds herself reflecting on her shallow contact and connection with people who are more single-place and traditionally focused. In this book review, she discusses the fresh... Continue Reading →
10 MINUTE READ There are some prejudices in Britain today that have become socially unacceptable: open racism, sexism and homophobia are now widely condemned in mainstream public life. Yet there is one form of prejudice that still seems OK, particularly among the educated middle-class: contempt for the white working-class. Author Across Cultures, Yang-May Ooi, questions... Continue Reading →
8 MINUTE READ We might feel safe and comfortable surrounded only by people like us. But, says Matthew Syed in his book Rebel Ideas, that can put us at a disadvantage, make our companies less competitive and might even kill us. Cross-cultural advocate and author Yang-May Ooi shares her review of this thought-provoking book that... Continue Reading →
LONG READ It can feel sometimes that our modern world is becoming more and more divided and disconnected. Battle lines are drawn across clashing beliefs. Politicians and demagogues seem to be taking advantage of our growing distrust and anxiety to stoke up even more conflict. How did this happen? Researching the mental health legacy of... Continue Reading →