Thursday, January 21, 2010
History Prof. Sucheta Mazumdar on theories of civilization
From This Month at Duke:
Political scientist Samuel Huntington, who was well-known for his theory of the “clash of civilizations,” argued that post-Cold War conflicts are fueled primarily by competing cultural and religious identities. His theory resonated beyond the academic world among Americans concerned about terrorism or immigration.
But they didn’t resonate with Sucheta Mazumdar, associate professor of history at Duke. From an East Campus office crammed with books in several languages, she challenges the very premise that civilizations are clashing. “We are eating, breathing global beings,” she says. “It makes no sense to cling to a 19th century view of clashing civilizations.”
Mazumdar, a historian whose interests range from Chinese and Asian-American history to the global flow of commodities and people, says “the ‘clash of civilizations’ is often a way of saying we really think we’re better than they are. It’s a kind of shorthand for the superpowers’ game.”
In a new book of essays, she looks at the evolution of the modern concept of “civilization.”
Continue reading article here.
Tags: globalization, history
