There, I said it. American cities are worth studying, So are Zambian cities. I personally do not study Zambian cities not because I think only American cities are worth studying, but because there are Zambians who can write perfectly well about their own cities without me getting in the way and cluttering things up.

They can also write perfectly well about American cities, from an interesting vantage point.

I happen to think that the obverse, e.g., American scholars writing about cities internationally is a well-established genre that I do not need to be a part of. I don’t claim that my study of whatever and whatever in Los Angeles generalizes to “cities internationally.” It is very unlikely that I am going to claim that my study of Los Angeles is going to generalize to San Diego. Much depends on the topic.

Nobody tells presidential historians that they must make their Lincoln biography “relevant to an international audience.” Lincoln is just interesting. It’s ok.

Twenty years ago, we could say “oh, it’s important to think about how things apply across cities because of lessons learned.” Now we know from scholars from the global south that much of urban theory from the global north just isn’t all that relevant to cities in the global south. They have me convinced, save for a few things that are definitional about cities.

Publishers do not pressure me to appeal to “an international audience” for the benefit of the international audience or necessarily the integrity of the actual thought I’m trying to publish. They are doing it because they want to broaden audiences for their financial gain and relevance during a time when they are struggling. I do empathize, but not everything should be applied to everywhere. Lots of comparative studies simply aren’t that valid, but they are still interesting because they contain insightful writing about each place rather than really sound conclusions from their comparison. You would never know this from the way publishers push things.

I am all for global scholarship is global via by inclusion of voices around the globe. I am just one of those, writing about where I live.