Book excerpt: This first book in the new Foundations in Global Studies series offers a fresh, comprehensive, multidisciplinary introduction to South Asia. The variations in social, cultural, economic, and political life in this diverse and complex region are explored within the context of the globalising forces affecting all regions of the world. In a simple strategy that all books in the series employ, the volume begins with foundational material (including chapters on history, language, and, in the case of South Asia, religion), moves to a discussion of globalisation, and then focuses the investigation more specifically through the use of case studies. The cases expose the student to various disciplinary lenses that are important in understanding the region and are meant to bring the region to life through subjects of high interest and significance to today's readers. Resource boxes, an important feature of the book, are included to maintain currency and add utility. They offer links that point readers to a rich archive of additional material, connections to timely data, reports on recent events, official sites, local and country-based media, visual material, and so forth. A website developed by Syracuse University's South Asia Center will feature additional graphic, narrative, and case study material to complement the book.