Some anthropologists emphasize forms of social, economic, and political power in shaping culture. Some of their attention is directed toward anthropology itself, uncovering unstated biases in the...

Some anthropologists emphasize forms of social, economic, and political power in shaping culture. Some of their attention is directed toward anthropology itself, uncovering unstated biases in the field and in the analysis of culture. Today, anthropologists are rethinking notions about “traditional” society and focusing more on the complex ways in which traditional societies reshaped themselves, and were reshaped by the impacts of European expansion and colonial control. Worldwide processes of modernization and globalization also raise issues about how people are enmeshed in economic institutions and political forces beyond their control.