Worlds Apart: Modernity Through the Prism of the Local

Worlds Apart maps out one of the new directions of anthropology, that aimed at advances in technologies which create an imagination of new global and local forms. It examines global institutions ranging from bureaucracy to business and from soap operas to beauty contests in regions such as West Africa, Hawaii, Australia, Belize and Egypt. The overall issue is whether there exists either a global level that transcends these loaclized manifestations or a local level that exists other than in relation to a wider domain. Anthropology has traditionally been more concerned with what is often assumed were regional traditions, and may have appeared threatened by increasing transnational institutions. In this book, however, the contributors who have studied these themes in their specific localized forms, show why there may be more, rather than less, reason to carry out ethnographic and comparative research when ethnographic detail is acknowledged to be closely linked to emergent global forms. This book will provide a firm foundation for future debates about local-global relations as well as demonstrating the continued significance of the contribution of anthropology to such discussions. It will be invaluable reading to all anthropologists and students of anthropology, cultural studies, media studies, human geography and sociology.