By: Guillermo Pineda Online Access: http://www.issuu.com/condottiero/docs/hoerder_cultures
CULTURES BOOK IN REVIEW CONTACT
December 20, 2011
December 20, 2011
CULTURES IN CONTACT
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Main argument Dirk Hoerder’s work is an encyclopedic work on migrations and global history. Its more than 700 pages compile the history of global migrations during the last 2000 years. The book is divided in four parts that richly illustrate the history of five migration periods in different contexts and migration types. The first part of the book studies presents a reconceptualization of the scope, patterns and theory in regard to the study of Global Migrations. Great part of the beginning of the book defines core concepts: agency, networks, historical contextualization, flows of migrations and assimilation, transnationalism (after 19th century). The book’s major contribution is contextualizing global migrations outside of the previous Eurocentric perspective of that emphasized large-‐scale migrations in an (Atlantic centric context). Emphasis is given to Asian migrations and to the impact of migrations around the globe. The author dismantles the argument of centric-‐periphery discussion in terms of global migrations by emphasizing that after 2000 years of migrations it is impossible to identify a single coherent “pure” and culturally self-‐contained group of humans. Among the important contributions of the book is the author’s emphasis in the fact that distinct societies arise from special traits in migration movements and global interconnections. More so, his argument elaborates via case studies how these migrations shaped current cultures by means of agency.
Periods of Migrations 1-‐2 Multicivilizational Mediterranean and Black Sea World
Caravan traders on trans-‐Saharan routes -‐ migrations
Latin and Byzantine Christendom, Sunni and Shiite Islam.
European migrations to Africa, Asia and America. Mid 15th. Century -‐ 19th. Century
1500s
Periods of Migrations 2-‐3 Industrialization migrants
World Wars
Large global migrations of labor forces
Large movements of refugees and relocation of people
19th. Century
First half of the 20th. Century
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Periods of Migrations 5 Interconnected ]lows of people in the Globe Flows of returning people to former colonies, urbanization processes in the less developed world, "multi-‐colored societies". 1950s to Present
Levels of Analysis The levels of analysis in the globalization processes part from the identification of global migration systems that are universal and ongoing historical processes. Hoerder takes special attention to women’s migrations and to a “meso-‐ level analysis” which he explains as the “global arena” and its interconnections that can be contextualized in time and periods by the interaction of migration patterns. He expands this by analyzing specific cases of global migrations: Genoese slave trade, Italian-‐born miners and workers in Missouri, and British women sent as domestic labor to South Africa, among others.
Still needed
Further analysis
Absence of conne ctions and culture destruction
Communities and Society
Evaluate more old er literature
Meso-‐level analysi s
Contextualize the sou Clarify gender rol
rces
es in context
December 20, 2011
CULTURES IN CONTACT
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December 20, 2011
CULTURES IN CONTACT
page 5