BOOK REVIEW: ANA MARIA MANZANAS CALVO AND JESÚS BENITO SÁNCHEZ (EDS.), “HOSPITALITY IN AMERICAN LITERATURE AND CULTURE: SPACES, BODIES, BORDERS”, ROUTLEDGE, 2017, 214 P.

Abstract

Despite the bewildering diversity of labels that have been attached to the first two decades of the new millennium, a critical examination of the contemporary socio-economic and political realities confirms that globalisation is one of the major forces that govern our lives and shape the face of the predictable future. Its effects are visible in all spheres of human activity, from the interconnectedness of regional markets or the unsettling growth of consumerism to the unprecedented mobility and exchange of people and information. Yet, as recent realities have shown, globalisation is far from a utopian destination: the election of populist governments, economic protectionism, escalation of the tensions between East and West are just a few visible signs indicative of a backlash against the globalist ideal, emergent in the wake of growing concerns that it may lead, if left unchecked, to the loss of identity and even freedom. Paradoxically, globalisation carries within itself the seeds of its own potential destruction.