This Element discusses a medieval African urban society as a product of interactions among African communities who inhabited the region between 100 BCE and 500 CE. It deviates from standard approaches that credit urbanism and state in Africa to non-African agents. East Africa, then and now, was part of the broader world of the Indian Ocean. Globalism coincided with the political and economic transformations that occurred during the Tang-Sung-Yuan-Ming and Islamic Dynastic times, 600-1500 CE. Positioned as the gateway into and out of eastern Africa, the Swahili coast became a site through which people, inventions, and innovations bi-directionally migrated, were adopted, and evolved. Swahili peoples' agency and unique characteristics cannot be seen only through Islam's prism. Instead, their unique character is a consequence of social and economic interactions of actors along the coast, inland, and beyond the Indian Ocean.

This Cambridge Element offers an interdisciplinary introduction to the histories of the Ethiopian and Eritrean highlands from late antiquity to the late medieval period, updating traditional Western academic perspectives. Early scholarship, often by philologists and religious scholars, upheld 'Ethiopia' as an isolated repository of ancient Jewish and Christian texts. This work reframes the region's history, highlighting the political, economic, and cultural interconnections of different kingdoms, polities, and peoples. Utilizing recent advancements in Ethiopian and Eritrean Studies as well as Medieval Studies, it reevaluates key instances of contact between 'Ethiopia' and the world of Afro-Eurasia, situating the histories of the Christian, Muslim, and local-religious or 'pagan' groups living in the Red Sea littoral and the Eritrean-Ethiopian highlands in the context of the Global Middle Ages.

Over a span of 1000 years beginning around 800CE, the people of the Pacific Islands undertook a remarkable period of voyaging, political evolution, and cross-cultural interactions. Polynesian navigators encountered previously uninhabited lands, as well as already inhabited islands and the coast of the Americas. Island societies saw epic sagas of political competition and intrigue, documented through oral traditions and the monuments and artefacts recovered through archaeology. European entry into the region added a new episode of interaction with strange people from over the horizon. These histories provide an important cross-cultural perspective for the concept of 'the Middle Ages' from outside of the usual Old World focus.

Through micro-analysis of language use, this book chronicles young women's pathways to becoming a Tanzanian beauty queen, offering an original perspective on the intersection of language with globalization, nationalism, and inequality in urban East Africa. This compelling linguistic ethnography considers the real-life effects, both on- and off-stage, of language policy, education, and gender dynamics for the women competing in the pageants. While highlighting many contestants' struggles for escape from poverty and patriarchy, the book also emphasizes their creative strategies – linguistic and otherwise – for bettering their lives and shows how people living in a global economic periphery take part in, and sometimes feel left out of, the wider world.

This highly-acclaimed, bestselling textbook, quickly established itself as one of the leading texts on the subject worldwide in its 1st edition. Now substantially revised and updated, Scholte provides students with a comprehensive introduction to globalization and questions why this phenomenon has occurred, to what extent it changes the world, and whether it is a force for good or ill. Accessibly written by a leading authority both as an academic researcher and a policy consultant, this second edition draws on the author's research in more than 20 countries over 5 continents. Split into 3 parts, the text first outlines a critical framework for understanding globalization, before exploring its impact on society, and the key debates surrounding its normative impact. Exploring questions such as what globalization is, how it has emerged and what effect it has had on society, this text is essential reading for undergraduate and postgraduate students seeking a thorough study of globalization. New to this Edition: - A broader perspective on all the dimensions of globalization - Makes use of the extensive new data and research findings since the first edition was released Draws more widely from other fields such as Business Studies, Law and Economics

In his essay "Style is Not a Four Letter Word," Mr. Keedy looks at the continuing feud in design between style and content, form and function, and even pleasure and utility, and tries to pin down how style got such a bad reputation, and how restoring its value may save design. Kenneth FitzGerald in "Buzz Kill" continues to be amazed at the gyrations designers will go through to try and place themselves beyond criticism. His essay tries to drive a stake through the common techniques used by designers to neutralize criticism. Anthony Inciong mourns the fact that design no longer leads but answers to the market and how this coincides with the dumbing down of design education. He recommends an increase in theory, history, and research as a way for young designers to build an awareness of the culture in which they and their objects will live. Michael Schmidt and Katherine McCoy, in two separate essays, explore the role of graphic design in the age of globalization. Randy Nakamura looks at the continuing attempt by graphic designers to raise design above its middlebrow pedigree. David Cabianca reviews Fred Smeijer's book "Type now: a manifesto, plus work so far." Cabianca, who studies at the University of Reading (UK), looks at what a student of type design may take away from this book. Rudy VanderLans interviews Peter Bilak, the designer of the popular Fedra type family and co-publisher of "DotDotDot" magazine, as well as Dmitri Siegel, a recent Yale graduate who has a knack for writing original and insightful design critiques. Max Kisman lends us a few pages from his ongoing illustrated diary which currently contains over 15,000 pages. Plus, the Readers Respond, featuring letters in response to past issues of Emigre magazine.

Globalisation will become a major theme of historical research during the next decade - this book will help to set a new agenda.