anthropology

Short Essay Prompt #5

Due: Sunday, November 19th by 5pm

Format: max 1 page (approx. 400-600 words), 1.5-2” spacing, 12 pt. font. Essays should be organized, free of excessive errors, and appropriately formal in tone.

Citation & Bibliographic Style: You should include in-text citations and a bibliography. Format your citations and references according to the American Anthropological Association’s style guidelines.   

File & Submission: 

1)    Save your file in .doc or .pdf format – I cannot comment on documents saved in other formats.

2)    Name your file in the following format: yourlastname.fifthessay

3)    Submit your paper at the link on Moodle.

Prompt: Globalization is sometimes thought of as a process by which people who used to have distinct cultures and ways of life are becoming more and more similar. On the other hand, some anthropologists (and others) have pointed to the many examples of cultural innovation and cultural hybridity (or mixing)—as well as new kinds of inequality— and argued that the overall effect is not homogenization but new forms of difference.

Undoubtedly globalization produces both similarities and differences among distant places and cultures, but in this essay I want you to make an argument about which tendency is more pervasive or important, using examples from at least two readings (at least one should be from this week).

A successful essay will have a thesis statement taking a clear position on the question posed above and will support that position with evidence from the readings while spelling out, in your own words, how this evidence supports your main argument.