Jacob Dearing
October 11th, 2015
Critical Abstract #4
Article author: Anna Lowenhaupt Tsing
Article title: An Ethnography of Global Connection
When approaching the concept of globalization it is common to implicate the “globalizing culture” as the contributor of global-cultural development. Anna Tsing determines to offset or even counter this general thought on globalization in order to show the occurrence of limited or, as she describes it, hamstrung views. The issue, Tsing describes, with common theories on globalization is that they are ultimately narrow in perspective. The reason for this observation, Tsing explains, is that current themes surrounding globalization, “package all cultural developments into a single program: the emergence of a global era”. If all global connections or analysis of cultural developments in minority cultures are addressed with this framework then there will be no diversity in themes as examination of global connectedness advances.
Tsing appropriates her thoughts on this subject by examining Indonesia’s rainforest conditions as they are connected to the countries imperialistic global trade systems. The reason for using the case on Indonesia is that it does not follow the common theme of globalization, which is essentially the “developed” influencing the cultural development of the “developing ” but it is the idea that the two influence each other. This corresponds with Tsing’s concept of “friction” which represents the contact point between cultures and ideas. The main theme of which is that “globalization” or this mingling of ideas is that they can be “compromising or empowering”. Through these interactions our understanding of the world can reach further distances but can blur discoveries along the way. The importance of Tsing’s article then is to expand our understanding of globalization to enrich the global communities view of our interactions for the future cultural development of the world.