ABSTRACT
My meetings with the yogi and the woman on the bridge were not unusual in themselves. They are examples of cross-cultural meetings that occur more and more frequently in our world. These encounters with those perceived as 'global others' occur in the contemporary era with an intensity and frequency that make our time unique. The process of globalisation that characterises the present era - the mass movements of peoples (through migration, labour exchange and tourism) and the inter-penetration of cultures and markets unceasingly confronts us with alterity and with opportunities to meet with the Other. It is my contention that the global encounters to which we are being called, are bringing forth a new genre of knowledge. This book is an exploration of that genre, which emerges from the particularity of my own interactions with the woman on the bridge and the yogi with the fan, and reaches towards the universality of the global domain.
