Recent Review:
Paul Ciccantell in Journal of World-Systems Research 19:1(Winter):159-162 [online, open access].
From the back cover:
“Hall and Fenelon give us a global perspective on
Indigenous social movements through detailed case studies of important
struggles across the globe. We learn about Maori of New Zealand, the Adevasi
in India, the Zapatista Movement in Mexico, and the Lakota and Navajo in the
United States. These and other movements are placed in a larger framework
that helps us understand how native peoples have been able to persist over
the centuries and resist the recent pressures of globalization. An excellent
text for classes that stress human rights and indigenous perspectives.”
—Louise Lamphere, Professor of Anthropology, University of New
Mexico, Visting Professor at University of California–Berkley
"This work will be significant to the work of a wide range of scholars with
interests in anthropology, human rights, ecological pasts and futures, and
the legacies of violent colonialisms.”
—Neil Whitehead, Professor of Anthropology, University of
Wisconsin-Madison
“This book provides considerable empirical detail in case studies that are
helpful and illustrative…. The book covers theoretical insights that all
students in the social science and American Indian studies fields should be
aware of and should take into consideration when analyzing policy, history,
and current events among indigenous peoples.”
—from the foreword by Duane Champagne
“This is a book I’ve long been hoping for, as an introduction to Native
American Studies. Combining social scientific analysis with humanistic
commitment, Hall and Fenelon examine the persistence of Native peoples
throughout the Americas and beyond amidst the encroachments of globalism. A
superb work.”
—Christopher Vecsey, Director of the Native American Studies Program,
Colgate University
“This fascinating study examines the continuing struggles of indigenous
peoples to sustain their autonomy in the face of both national and
international political and economic forces. Using a revitalized notion of
‘world systems’ professors Hall and Fenelon illustrate the importance of
appreciating the global dimensions to the long history of such widespread
resistance by indigenous societies.
Using closely argued examples from both current and past contexts the
authors show in detail the intricate sets of relationships that bind the
fate of indigenous peoples to the vagaries of political and economic power
beyond their own social horizons.
Particular case studies of the Mexican Zapatistas, the Maori in New Zealand,
Adevasi in India, and of Native North America convincingly ground the
authors’ theoretical approaches and allow them to make a powerful historical
argument for indigenous human rights.
Hall and Fenelon stress that a better understanding of the cyclical nature
of such conflicts is itself an important element in ensuring recognition of
those rights. As a result we are obliged to rethink not just our scholarly
analyses but also the nature of our own political and cultural commitments
to a more equitable world.
Indigenous peoples throughout the world are experiencing the full presence
of injustice in the form of duplicitous development schemes, poverty,
landlessness, dispossession, political and religious oppression, and
genocide. Hall and Fenelon have created a remarkable book about the complex
reasons for these injustices. They extend their earlier work in a sober, yet
provocative manner, especially from a world-system perspective. The power of
the book rests on its ability to provoke and urge us to rethink many facets
of social change and history connected to the diverse indigenous peoples on
our planet.”
—Pat Lauderdale, Professor of Justice, Arizona State University,
Visiting Scholar, Stanford University, Center for the Comparative Study of
Race and Ethnicity, and the Department of Sociology
“This book is about how indigenous peoples are forbearing the invisible hand
of free market and its proponents, and in the process are finding new
political life and cultural strength. Fenelon and Hall tell story after
story about Indigenous peoples saying, 'we are still here, we are getting
stronger, and we are calling the shots on our terms.' Students and scholars
interested in globalization theory, Indigenous issues, and American Indian
Studies need to read about these stories.”
—Manley Begay, director of the Native Nations Institute for
Leadership, Management, and Policy in the Udall Center for Studies in Public
Policy and senior lecturer/associate social scientist in the American Indian
Studies Program at The University of Arizona
This book brings together some of the most influential new research from the world-systems perspective. The authors survey and analyze new and emerging topics from a wide rand of disciplinary perspectives, from political science to archaeology. Each analytical essay is written in accessible language so that the volume serves as a lucid introduction both to the tradition of world-systems thought and the new debates that are sparking further research today.
"From the Stone Age to the stoned age and from Appalachia to
Zanzibar, A World-Systems Reader takes students on a fascinating
journey through time and space. The authors demonstrate the range and versatility of this
vital and expanding social science perspective through both deft summaries and in-depth
examples of contemporary research. A World-Systems Reader is
thus an excellent choice for courses on social change."—Walter Goldfrank,
University of California
Table of Contents
Ordering
Info or www.rowmanlittlefield.com (or
call 1-800-273-5720).
Reviews: Thomas R. Shannon in Journal of World-Systems Research 7:1 [http://jwsr.ucr.edu/archive/vol7/number1/bookreviews/index.shtml#hall]
