Cultural Anthropology

The fifth edition of Cultural Anthropology: Global Forces, Local Lives offers a clear and readable introduction to the field of cultural anthropology, with a special focus on how digital technologies and social media function as prime global forces that are nevertheless used, adapted, transformed, or ignored by people in their everyday local lives. This thoroughly modern textbook challenges traditional views of anthropology by positioning it as uniquely qualified to analyze our tech-enhanced social world, exploring the "myth and mess" of digital life through ethnographic case studies spanning diverse global contexts. This updated fifth edition offers significant enhancements including a new chapter on applied anthropology, expanded coverage of gender studies, four new extended case studies, and fresh ethnographic examples featuring digital phenomena like Facebook in Turkey, hashtag activism, and COVID-19 responses in Bhutan. Cultural Anthropology: Global Forces, Local Lives is ideal for undergraduate students in anthropology and related social sciences, as well as researchers interested in the cultural dimensions of technology, globalization, and contemporary social movements.