Globalization and African Studies: The Case for Pluralization

Abstract

This paper examines some of the positions taken by area studies scholars on the question of globalization and its relationships and relevance to the production of knowledge about Africa. It argues for a plurality of globalizations rather than a single globalization more or less taken to be synonymous with westernization and the movement of things from the North to the South. As a descriptive term for the movement of things, globalization represents multi-directional flows that contribute to the emergence of the “global village.”