20世紀80年代,西方社會科學面臨著前所未有的危機,包括人類學在內的許多學科經歷著解構與重建的艱難歷程。在新的基礎上重建起來的人類學,可以更具批判性、更有效地去探索我們如今所生活的全球化世界。全球化世界具有兩種顯著特征:所有社會的經濟體系,無論規模如何,都已成為一個獨特系統———資本主義市場經濟體系———的一部分;同時,越來越多這樣的社會正在經歷非西方化的現代化過程。正因為如此,我們更有必要懂得他者的他者性是相對的,而非絕對的。在此情境下,人類學將扮演至關重要的角色,因為它建立在人類學家通過參與式觀察,長期田野工作,與他者共同生活和工作,進而與他者建立起重要關系的基礎之上。

In the 1980 s,western social sciences faced an unprecedented crisis.Many disciplines including anthropology experienced arduous course of deconstruction and reconstruction.Anthropology which is reconstructed on new foundations is more critical and effective to explore the globalized world in which we are now living.Two trends characterize the globalized world:all economies,whatever their size,are now part of a unique system,the capitalist market system;more and more societies are experiencing non-westernized modernization.For this reason,it is more necessary for us to understand the otherness of the other which is always relative and not absolute.In this scenario,anthropology will play a significant role,because it is built on the important relationship with the other,which resulted from anthropologist’s participant observation,long-time fieldwork,"participant observation",living and working with the other.