New Directions in Economic Anthropology (Anthropology, Culture and Society Series)

The past decade has witnessed the phenomenal rise of cultural studies on both sides of the Atlantic. This text asks whether the very success of this comparatively new field of academic enquiry stands as a tribute to anthropology, or whether the success of cultural studies is evidence of anthropology's fragmentation and decline. Amidst fears that anthropology is being eclipsed, this collection of essays asks what kinds of relationships are feasible between anthropology and cultural studies, and how they might develop in the future. Is there scope for fruitful dialogue and, if so, on whose terms? Are there shared theoretical agendas? In adopting an interdisciplinary approach to the anthropology of complex cultural issues, the contributors to this volume review both the challenges and the potential insights of cultural studies approaches within their field of research, and chart a potentially new agenda for anthropology in an increasingly shared terrain of globally interacting cultures and identities.