Campus News

AGSA Tackles Globalization in Spring Lecture

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LEXINGTON, Ky. (March 19, 2010) - Curious about the world's social circumstances? Look no further than the continent of Africa, according to internationally renowned cultural anthropologist James Ferguson of Stanford University.

Ferguson is the Anthropology Graduate Student Association (AGSA) Distinguished Lecturer this spring. 

His lecture, titled, "Anthropology and the Crisis: Reflections on Distribution and Labor," will take place at 4 p.m. Tuesday, March 23, in the William T. Young Library Auditorium, with a reception following at the King Alumni House. 

Ferguson is a professor of cultural and social anthropology and chair of the Department of Anthropology at Stanford.

"Dr. Ferguson will speak about his work in Africa and the theoretical considerations of globalization, international development and place," explained event organizer and doctoral student Viki Dekle. "This is a wonderful opportunity for students and faculty to engage with an anthropologist that has been influential to both international studies and social theory."

Ferguson focuses on the continent of Africa as a microcosm of the world, questioning the way we think about large-scale issues such as globalization, modernity, worldwide inequality and social justice. He is also beginning a new research project in South Africa, exploring the emergence of poverty and social policy issues under neoliberal conditions.

Ferguson's most recent book of essays, "Global Shadows: Africa in the Neoliberal World Order," addresses a range of topics, from structural adjustment, the crisis of the state and the emergence of new forms of government-via-NGO, to the question of the changing social meaning of "modernity" for colonial and postcolonial urban Africans.

"Given current events and academia’s increasing awareness of globalization issues, we think that Dr. Ferguson has interdisciplinary and universitywide appeal," said Dekle. "He's also known as an excellent public speaker." 

The Distinguished Lecture Series began in 2001 and is organized annually by the AGSA. Each year, the student-led organization invites leading anthropological scholars to UK to foster a mutual exchange of ideas among students and faculty, as well as the public.

Ferguson's lecture is sponsored by AGSA, the Graduate School, the College of Arts and Sciences, Student Government Association, the Department of Anthropology, the Department of Geography, the Webb Museum of Anthropology, the Program for Archeological Research, the Kentucky Archeology Survey, the Committee on Social Theory and the International Studies Program.

 For more information, please contact Dekle at vdekle@gmail.com.