Global Studies and Anthropology An Appraisal

Abstract

Modern world has become closer and complicated; the speeds are high day by day due to ongoing process of globalization, which refers interconnectedness and interdependence of world societies. Contemporary globalization is the increasing flow of trade, finance, cultures, ideas and peoples brought about by sophisticated technology of communications and also by world wide spread of neo-liberal capitalism. It is not only the process of local adaptations to global forces but also the resistance to those flows. The emerging global situation and so also the global problems has attracted the attention of academic scholars, politicians, business representatives, non-government and civil society organizations to come forward and to comprehend the global condition. The attention of different layers of society towards the issues of globalization and global problems have opened to door of interdisciplinary and cross disciplinary research in the name of global studies. Global studies have emerged as central to the understanding of the dynamics of globalization.

This paper is a modest attempt to delineate the aims, objectives, directions and methods of global studies and their relevance in contemporary times. Special emphasis has been given in this paper to highlight the role of anthropology in examining the global issues of recent times. The paper is based on facts obtained from review of relevant literatures supported by empirical observations.