Today's world is shaped by an obsession with cultural difference
that penetrates everyday life and matters of state in unprecedented
ways. Culture and cultural difference are commonly used to explain
everything that's in the news - from wars to economic development
and consumer behavior. This fuels the belief that our world is
shaped by clashing cultures, a view that is counterproductive when
it assumes falsely that culture is a timeless container that traps
nations and ethnic groups.
"Seeing Culture Everywhere" challenges the misguided and
dangerous global obsession with cultural difference and directly
critiques the popular notion that world affairs are determined by
essential civilizations with immutable and conflicting cultures.
The book offers an alternative view of a world in which cultural
mixing, not isolation, is the norm, but where several historical
trends have come together at the beginning of the twenty-first
century to produce the current wave of "culture think." Brimming
with concrete examples that move from genocide in Rwanda to schools
in Berlin, from the Chrysler boardroom to the war in Iraq, it
contemplates how ethnic identity can be mobilized in the service of
all kinds of goals - violent or nonviolent, laudable or despicable
- and the unintended effects such mobilization invariably produces.
The authors suggest ways to remain sensitive to the cultural
impacts of policies and decisions without falling into the traps of
determinism, essentialism, and misrepresentation.
"Seeing Culture Everywhere" will be useful in the fields of
anthropology, law, intercultural communication, and international
relations, as well as for general readers interested in ethnicity
and travel.
Joana Breidenbach, an independent anthropologist, journalist,
and social entrepreneur who lives in Berlin, is author of "Tanz der
Kulturen" (The dance of cultures) and coeditor (with Nyiri) of
"China Inside Out." Pal Nyiri is professor of history from an
anthropological perspective at the Free University (VU) of
Amsterdam. He is the author of "Scenic Spots: Chinese Tourism, the
State, and Cultural Authority" and "Chinese in Eastern Europe and
Russia."
"One rarely finds scholars who have an overview of the use of
culture concepts in all fields. "Seeing Culture Everywhere" deals
with academic and non-academic materials in a balance and to a
degree that is a rare achievement." -- Ulf Hannerz, Stockholm
University
"This delightful book needed to be written, and Breidenbach and
Ny ri have done the job admirably. Seeing Culture Everywhere is so
much more readable and comprehensive than anything I've seen in the
field." -- Thomas Hylland Eriksen, University of Oslo
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