Hanging by a Thread: Cotton, Globalization, and Poverty in Africa (Ohio RIS Global Series) [Paperback]

William G. Moseley (Editor), Leslie C. Gray (Editor)

Book Description

Series: Ohio RIS Global Series | Publication Date: April 29, 2008

The textile industry was one of the first manufacturing activities to become organized globally, as mechanized production in Europe used cotton from the various colonies. Africa, the least developed of the world’s major regions, is now increasingly engaged in the production of this crop for the global market, and debates about the pros and cons of this trend have intensified.

Hanging by a Thread: Cotton, Globalization, and Poverty in Africa illuminates the connections between Africa and the global economy. The editors offer a compelling set of linked studies that detail one aspect of the globalization process in Africa, the cotton commodity chain.

From global policy debates, to impacts on the natural environment, to the economic and social implications of this process, Hanging by a Thread explores cotton production in the postcolonial period from different disciplinary perspectives and in a range of national contexts. This approach makes the globalization process palpable by detailing how changes at the macroeconomic level play out on the ground in the world’s poorest region. Hanging by a Thread offers new insights on the region in a global context and provides a critical perspective on current and future development policy for Africa.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

William G. Moseley is an associate professor of geography at Macalester College in Saint Paul, Minnesota. He is the author of two editions of Taking Sides: Clashing Views on African Issues; and coeditor of The Introductory Reader in Human Geography: Contemporary Debates and Classic Writings and African Environment and Development: Rhetoric, Programs, Realities.

Leslie C. Gray is an associate professor of environ mental studies at Santa Clara University. She has published articles on environment and development in journals such as World Development, Africa, African Studies Review, Development and Change, Geoforum, and Geographical Journal.

Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Ohio University Press; 1 edition (April 29, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0896802604
• ISBN-13: 978-0896802605
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #510,452 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

WILLIAM G. MOSELEY is a Professor of Geography, and former director of the African Studies Program, at Macalester College in Saint Paul, Minnesota, USA, where he teaches courses on Africa, environment and development. He has worked for the U.S. Peace Corps, the Save the Children Fund (UK), the U.S. Agency for International Development, the World Bank Environment Department and the U.S. State Department. His research and work experiences have led to extended stays in Mali, Zimbabwe, Malawi, Niger, Lesotho and South Africa. He is the author of over 60 peer-reviewed articles and book chapters. He also has written pieces for the popular press that have been published in the international edition of the New York Times, the Christian Science Monitor, the Philadelphia Inquirer, the San Francisco Chronicle, the Minneapolis StarTribune, the Chronicle of Higher Education, and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He is the lead author of several edited collections, including African Environment and Development: Rhetoric, Programs, Realities (Ashgate, 2004); The Introductory Reader in Human Geography: Contemporary Debates and Classic Writings (Blackwell, 2007), Hanging by a Thread: Cotton, Globalization and Poverty in Africa (Ohio University Press, 2008) and four editions of Taking Sides: Clashing Views on African Issues, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2011). He previously served as editor of the African Geographical Review.

Bill Moseley lives in Saint Paul, Minnesota with his wife and two children. He enjoys running, cross-country skiing and board games. An interview with him may be found at: http://www.macalester.edu/whatshappening/audio/archive/2007/mactalk20070503.mp3