Historical Patterns & Contemporary Change
How did the modern world system emerge? This Global Transformations hub explores the historical processes that shaped our interconnected world, challenging popular narratives about human history while revealing alternative perspectives on how societies transform across cultures and time.
Global Political Economy
From Bolivian silver mines to Caribbean sugar plantations, anthropology reveals how colonial extraction created modern capitalism. These resources explore how places now labeled “underdeveloped” built the global economy, challenging narratives that ignore Indigenous agency and colonial violence.
Key Lectures
Potosí was larger than Paris, Haiti wealthier than the thirteen colonies–discover how forgotten cities built modern capitalism
Why Guns, Germs, and Steel gets history wrong–and what Indigenous perspectives reveal about collapse narratives
From Buffalo Soldiers to Darwin’s prejudices–how anthropology emerged studying people already transformed by colonialism
Globalization
What does globalization actually mean? These resources examine how contemporary global processes build on centuries of interconnection, revealing what Michel-Rolph Trouillot called the “systematic erasure” of deep historical encounters.
Featured Videos
Contemporary analysis of global processes, from fast fashion to digital labor, through anthropological lenses, see What is Globalization in Anthropology
“For sushi in Chicago to amaze us…” Exposing how globalization narratives systematically erase deep historical connections. Buy Global Transformations today!
Quick reference guide to globalization’s historical phases: 1492-1776, 1776-1914, and 1980s-present