Arjun Appadurai’s The Future as Cultural Fact is the product of ten years’ research and writing, constituting an important contribution to globalization studies. In this essay collection, a sequel to Modernity at Large and Fear of Small Numbers, the author takes a broad analytical look at the genealogies of the present era of globalization through essays on violence, commodification, nationalism, terror and materiality.

Alongside a discussion of these wider debates, Appadurai situates India at the heart of his work, and examines the struggles of urban Mumbai slum dwellers. Finally, in his work on design, planning, finance and poverty, Appadurai embraces the “politics of hope” and lays the foundations for a revitalized, and urgent, anthropology of the future.

Join the author for the launch. Professors Suketu Mehta and Sheldon Pollock will be offering comments on the book and Professor Caitlin Zaloom will moderate a discussion.

This event is co-sponsored by the Department of Media, Culture, and Communication, South Asia@NYU, and the Institute for Public Knowledge.