The sociology of cosmopolitanism
Subtitle: globalization, identity, culture and government
By: Gavin Kendall, Ian Woodward and Zlatko Skrbis
Contributors: Woodward, Ian, Dr; Skrbiš, Zlatko
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
Published: 2009
Place of publication: Basingstoke; New York
Language: eng
Number of pages: 177
ISBN-13: 9780230008687
Subjects: Cosmopolitanism
Description: The dream of a cosmopolitical utopia has been around for thousands of years. Yet the promise of being locally situated and at the same time globally connected and mobile has never seemed more possible than it is today. The question remains as to whether it is positive and realistic for us to have multiple loyalties. Can we sustain community and solidarity with our neighbours while we look beyond our nation? And if we can't - or won't - consider distant strangers as part of our own world, are there increasingly dire consequences? This book reconnects classical sociological theory and contemporary ideas on mobility, otherness, material assemblages, consumption and surveillance to render the idea of a global cosmopolitan utopia amenable to sociological investigation. The book takes a realistic approach to the development of cosmopolitical arrangements. It embraces the imaginative impulses the cosmopolitan dream provides, but takes into account the political, ethical and cultural dimensions of such cosmopolitan developments. In revisiting the relevance of classical sociological approaches in the context of contemporary theoretical challenges, the distinctive approach this book takes to understanding cosmopolitanism will be of use to scholars and students alike.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index.
Table of contents: title: Problems in the field of cosmopolitanism; title: The question of belonging : the nation state and beyond; title: Cosmopolitanism and the political realm; title: Cosmopolitanism as a political lifestyle : morality, technology and style; title: Thinking, feeling and acting cosmopolitan : the ideal types and their expression in everyday cultural fields; title: The cosmopolitan symbolic universe and communities of sentiment; title: Conclusion : cosmopolitanism as an intellectual and political project.