The Ambivalence of Ordinary Cosmopolitanism: Investigating the Limits of Cosmopolitan Openness

Abstract

Despite diverse understandings of cosmopolitanism, most authors agree that cosmopolitans espouse a broadly defined disposition of 'openness' toward others, people, things and experiences whose origin is non-local. It is argued that such an attitude is expressed by an emotional and ethical commitment towards universalism, selflessness, worldliness and communitarianism, and that such values should be identifiable in the practices, attitudes and identifications of individuals. By using data generated through qualitative focus group research, this paper extends the development of Lamont and Aksartova's (2002) category of 'ordinary cosmopolitanism'. The participants in this study saw themselves as beneficiaries of an increasingly interconnected world, and they generally expressed cosmopolitan sentiments by referring to easily accepted opportunities associated with globalisation (eg. travel, cuisine, music) rather than the more difficult aspects of openness such as showing hospitality to strangers, or accepting human interest ahead of perceived national interests. Their positive views were counterbalanced, however, by sentiments of 'dilution of national culture' and 'culture loss'. We argue that cosmopolitanism is a set of structurally grounded, discursive resources available to social actors which is variably deployed to deal with issues like cultural diversity, the global, and otherness. Ironically these discourses, which are the basis of the everyday accounts we describe, mirror academic debates on globalisation, suggesting the immersion of theorists in these discursive webs of meaning that structure responses to things global.

Transcultural Brokerage: The Role of Cosmopolitans in Bridging Structural and Cultural Holes

“…The second defining characteristics of cosmopolitanism-openness to other cultures-reflects an appreciation of "…people, places, and experiences from other cultures" (Szerszynski & Urry, 2002: 468) and is considered by many to be a core property of cosmopolitan disposition (Hannerz, 1990;Lee, 2015;Levy et al, 2007;Skrbis, Kendall, & Woodward, 2004;Skey, 2012;Skrbis & Woodward, 2007). Moreover, transcendence and openness can be enacted through a variety of transnational practices and activities such as keeping abreast of world news, consumption of many places and environments, networking and interacting across borders, and transnational mobility (including physical, imaginative, and virtual), among others (Beck, 2002;Szerszynski & Urry, 2002;.…”

“…Our approach is distinctively interdisciplinary (see Cheng, Henisz, Roth, & Swaminathan, 2009), and we draw on the key literature on cosmopolitanism, globalization, and transnational cultures (e.g., Hannerz, 1990;Skrbis & Woodward, 2007), network theory in sociology and organizational studies (e.g., Burt, 1992;Obstfeld et al, 2014), and research on global work (e.g., Hinds et al, 2011;Brannen & Peterson, 2009) and international and human resource management (e.g., McNulty & Hutchings, 2016;Schuler et al, 2011). Based on these research streams, we first propose a model of cosmopolitanism as an embodied disposition.…”

Examining Consumer Cosmopolitanism and Foreign Travelling in the Context of Consumer Behavior

“…Yoon (1998) indicates that attributes such as extensive travelling, open mindedness, language abilities, positive thinking, possesion of trendy tastes and wealthy lifestyles are associated with cosmopolitans. Foreign travelling can be an antecedent for consumer cosmopolitanism (Skrbis and Woodward, 2007). A cosmopolitan might have a need to travel and experience different lifestyles (Cannon and Yaprak, 2002).…”

Media events and cosmopolitan fandom: ‘Playful nationalism’ in the Eurovision Song Contest

“…A number of empirical studies have grounded this 'orientation' in diverse socio-cultural practices, such as everyday consumption (Skrbis and Woodward, 2007), living in international cities (Müller, 2011), or engaging with the suffering of distant others (Kyriakidou, 2009). These studies have illustrated cosmopolitanism as 'a set of practices and dispositions, grounded in social structures, and observable in commonplace folk settings and practices' (Skrbis and Woodward, 2007: 734).…”