Dear Global bloggers,
To respond to Rasha's request that we continue our LSE discussion on globalization, I think that it will be an interesting blog as we come to it from so many different parts of the world and disciplines. As an anthropologist I often find myself involved with both the benefits and the scary challenges that the many forces of globalization bring to our lives. The vulnerability of our planet and the marginalization of specific groups of people are two at the top of my scary list. However, just two days ago, a friend of mine who founded an NGO I belong to (United Front Against River Blindness), just completed an amazing mission in the Congo (DRC), where drugs were given out to prevent river blindness. After several years of planning this, training local people to distribute the Mectizan properly, it actually happened. Our friend Dr. Daniel Shungu is originally from the Congo, and worked for Merck Pharmaceutical for many years here in N.J. Merck has donated the Mectizan for as long as any country needs it. (The dosage is one pill per year for 10-15 years.) There are villages including Dr. Shungu's) where the children spend their lives leading the blind adults around, until they themselves, become infected. At any rate, it is a self-sustaining program for each village, and is for me, an example of a very positive aspect to globalization. I don't have a formula for understanding globalization Rasha, but I do know that it will not disappear. The more we are aware of the delicate balances of our planet and the microcosms, i.e. people, perhaps the more careful we'll be with each other. For those who don't wish to be careful, then there should be an expanded network of structures that requires one to stay within certain bounds. Any suggestions as to how we enforce civil society?Meanwhile, each semester my students videoconference weekly with students in Cairo discussing the difficult issues of this millennium, but wanting to meet them personally in the end. Probably there's hope. All the best, Robin (Roberta Fiske-Rusciano)
Theorizing the "Global"
Theorizing the idea of "Global" is now a necessity for all social scientists and humanists with the term Global interfering with our way of life, our nations and our future. From 'global media' haunting us 24/7, to 'global cell phones' linking the whole world together, to 'global warming' harming our environment, to the 'global war on terror' threatening our life and existence, we are all obliged to think globally and collectively, and attempt to theorize or reach a formula that helps us adapt to our 'global world'.
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