Transcendent
Philosophy of Mulla Sadra byProfessor S.M. Khamenei |
Current Trends in Global StudiesThis
volume represents the culmination of the efforts of over 350 of the foremost
experts worldwide in the field of Global Studies and other related
disciplines. Since early in 2005, the
Editors have gathered contributions from a wide variety of academic and non-academic
authors, drawing upon respected institutions such as the The
field of Global Studies has arisen in response to such concerns. Since the 1960s, world scholars have sought
to better understand what is now called “globalization,” recognizing the
universal significance and potential dangers associated with, for instance,
the ever-quickening pace and accessibility of information exchange, the
international mobility of labor markets, the exponential growth of knowledge
and service-based industries and accompanying technologies, population
fluctuations, and the transformation of traditional value systems world-wide.
In their entry on the topic of “Global Studies,” Editors Ivan Mazour and
Alexander Chumakov remark, “the most important achievement of global studies
was the creation of a language for interdisciplinary communication acceptable
for different sciences, and the development and upgrading of fundamental key
concepts and categories.” Thus, ideas
such as “global problems,” “ecological crisis,” “demographic explosion,”
“world community,” and “the new humanism” have emerged through work in the
interdisciplinary field of Global Studies. The entries in this volume
epitomize the growing knowledge within this field, exploring these and other
concepts in order to more adequately articulate and propose workable
solutions for the problems that all of humanity shares as the result of
trends associated with globalization. An
earlier volume, upon which the present work has been based, constituted the
first effort to encapsulate the basic knowledge accumulated by those active
in the field of Global Studies. In 2003, a team of scholars, primarily in the
Prometheus
Press has now offered the editors of the Global
Studies Encyclopedia the opportunity to publish this companion volume,
the Global Studies Dictionary. The primary purpose of this new book is to
include many more, yet briefer entries about the aforementioned terms and
notions that have been articulated in the field of Global Studies. Thus,
while the Encyclopedia includes lengthier
articles that provide many details on broad topics, the present volume serves
to provide the reader with clarified meanings of emerging notions in Global
Studies as well as definitions of now well-established concepts. This new
book thereby features both updated entries appearing in the original volume
and many new entries written by original contributors as well as
highly-qualified additional authors. In order to incorporate these new
entries while remaining within the page limit stipulated by the publisher,
some of the original entries have been omitted from this new volume and
others have been edited. Many
difficult choices were made in selecting entries that would not be retained
in this new book, though criteria included non-redundancy and clear, timely
content likely to appeal to a broad readership. Still,
numerous high quality entries can be found in the Encyclopedia that do not appear in the Dictionary, along with many lengthy entries which have been
abbreviated for the Dictionary in
keeping with the new format of shorter (1500 words or less), more
definitional entries. In order to assist the reader, a symbol system has been
devised to distinguish among original and new entries. Entries that have been transferred from the
Encyclopedia to the Dictionary without alteration are
listed with no accompanying symbols; entries that appear in expanded form in
the Encyclopedia are indicated by
an asterisk (*) and new entries are indicated by a plus sign (+). Prometheus is now also able to distribute the
original Encyclopedia for readers
who wish to obtain the original volume. The
topics covered in both volumes are drawn from all areas of academic study,
including entries on the Biosphere, Climate, Culture, Demography, Health,
Ecology and Natural Resources, Education and Teaching, Global Problems and
Globalization, History and Future Studies, International Organizations,
International Terrorism, International Law and Human Rights, Science and
Technology, Social Movements, Sustainable Development, Urbanization, War and
Peace, and World Religions. New topics
appearing in the Global Studies
Dictionary include Global Political Philosophies and Ideologies, Global
Economics, Global Resource Allocation, Information Technology, International
Diplomacy, International Moral Issues, Media Studies, Multiculturalism,
Nationalism, Psychological and Sociological Aspects of Globalization, and
Transnational Issues in Capital and Crime. Our
interest in continuing the quality and diversity of entries in the new volume
has also resulted in a wider range of nationalities and perspectives
represented in the Global Studies
Dictionary, which features over 600 entries by more than 350 authors from
over 50 nations world wide, representing 6 of 7 continents. These totals
represent an increase of more than 200 new articles by more than 70 new
authors in more than a dozen nations. Though the reader may encounter
vocabularies or approaches with which he or she is not familiar, our
editorial goal has involved exposing our readers to the rich variety of
voices in the Global conversation, rather than enforcing a narrow standard of
methodological and philosophical homogeneity. Similarly, while some entries
have been edited for sexist or otherwise divisive language, our concern for
pluralism of content has led us to include some entries which may be regarded
as controversial, especially to certain religious and cultural
sensibilities. Once again, we have
included such entries in accordance with our aim of inclusiveness. In doing
so, for instance, we have made a special effort to solicit contributions from
several important Islamic scholars. While their criticisms of globalization
may seem anti-Western in tone, they are important components in the needed
cross-cultural dialogue. Unless we engage in some difficult conversations,
the attempts by Global Studies to address the key global problems will be too
partial and too partisan. Forging consensus where we can and recognizing
differences and divisions where we cannot are important components in the
endeavors of scholars in Global Studies who wish to examine such challenges
in all their complexities. Thus,
the Global Studies Dictionary
provides useful and engaging knowledge and insights from some of the leading
authors in their respective fields worldwide.
As such, the Dictionary stands
as a valuable resource for researchers, students, or those who are simply
interested in learning more about global issues, and many entries cite
references for further reading.
Entries are arranged in alphabetical order, with an index at the end
that lists all entries in their order of appearance. Following this listing of entries, an
author index appears that lists each author alphabetically and also notes his
or her contribution(s), title, institution, and/or location. In closing, I would like
to thank William Gay for granting me the opportunity to help him with this
important project, as well as the many contributing authors to the Encyclopedia who have kindly prepared
edited entries for this new book. Michael T. Howard,
Assistant Editor |