(SCL8) Ordinary Cosmopolitanisms

Academic discussions of cosmopolitanism have been reinvigorated in the context of contemporary processes of globalization, transnational mobilities, and multicultural urbanism. Cosmopolitanism can be understood as both: 1) a philosophy and political project of world citizenship; as well as 2) an intellectual or aesthetic disposition and set of practices premised on an openness to cultural diversity and global awareness. Within the broader academic literature, a growing sociology of cosmopolitanism is characterized by research that uses a grounded notion of cosmopolitanism to understand the ways in which cosmopolitanism is ‘lived’ and expressed in daily life. For this session, we feature papers that advance sociological understandings of the various ways in which cosmopolitanism is manifest in everyday life. This includes research that focuses on cosmopolitan consumption and markets, cosmopolitan canopies and cultural practices, as well as the relationships between cosmopolitanism and banal nationalism. Theoretically informed and grounded in empirical research, the papers are based on recent studies that consider how cosmopolitanism surfaces and is expressed in various, ordinary ways. Tags: Culture, Development And Globalization

Organizers: Sonia Bookman, University of Manitoba, Mark Hudson, University of Manitoba, Mara Fridell, University of Manitoba

Presentations

Mark Hudson, University of Manitoba; Shayne St. Denis, University of Manitoba

CSR, ESG, and Financial Cosmopolitanism: Bank constructions of responsibility

This paper situates the cosmopolitan constructions of transnational banks within the longer history of corporate contestation over “social responsibility.” Swinging back and forth between highly restrictive and more expansive understandings of corporate responsibility, banks—as key, perhaps even hegemonic, members of capitalist policy networks—actively engage with questions about who they are responsible to, and for what. Through a critical content analysis of documentation from 5 transnational banks, the paper characterizes banks’ ongoing settlement of their own cosmopolitan responsibilities, and places it in this longer historical context.

Sonia Bookman, University of Manitoba; Benjamin Ayamga, University of Manitoba

Configuring Ordinary Cosmopolitan Cultures: Ethical Branding, Cosmopolitan Affordances, and Consumption in a Canadian Context

Academic discussions of cosmopolitanism have been reinvigorated in the context of contemporary processes of globalization, transnational mobilities, and multicultural urbanism, resulting in a substantial literature reflecting a range of disciplinary approaches and academic debates (Rovisco and Nowicka 2011; Inglis 2014). We situate our paper within an emerging sociology of cosmopolitanism, characterized by a concern with the ways in which cosmopolitanism emerges in everyday life, including through market processes and practices of consumption in contemporary consumer culture.

With the “moralization of markets” (Stehr, 2008) and widespread adoption by companies of corporate social responsibility (CSR) policy, global brands are now prominent platforms where individuals encounter images of cultural diversity, principles of global social and environmental responsibility, and opportunities to engage cosmopolitan practices. Yet, little academic attention has been paid to investigating the ways in which cosmopolitan consumption is articulated and supported by such market cultural forms as well as how consumers engage their cosmopolitan affordances.

Exploring connections between global brands, cosmopolitanism, and consumption, this paper draws on material from an extensive qualitative study conducted over three years (2020-2023), in a Canadian context. Focusing on H&M, Amazon, and McDonald’s, case study research involved documentary study, textual and visual analysis of brand communications and environments, as well, qualitative interviews were conducted with consumers of the brands (n=49) in the city of Winnipeg, Canada.

Providing a multi-level analysis, the paper outlines: 1) how the brands mediate and support cosmopolitan consumption in Canada through the implementation of market practices of corporate social responsibility; and 2) how Canadian consumers engage such brand-based cosmopolitan affordances (e.g. purchasing clothing made with recycled materials), and the meanings they make of such activity.

The paper will mainly consider how diverse consumers engage and negotiate the cosmopolitan “frames of action” (Arvidsson, 2006) assembled by these brands, paying attention to the ways in which consumer engagement is refracted through cultural, gender, and class boundaries. It will compare and contrast the cosmopolitan cultures that surface on the platforms of the brands, delineating differences in emphasis (aesthetic versus moral cosmopolitan orientations), extent of consumer involvement (passive acceptance versus active use of the brand to perform cosmopolitan ideals), and meanings expressed, while drawing attention to their ambivalence, tensions, and limitations. In this way, the paper contributes a nuanced understanding of the particular kinds of cosmopolitanism and cosmopolitan practice that surface in the dynamic interplay of consumption, branding activity, and everyday life.

Tyler Correia, University Canada West (UCW)

Complicating Banal Nationalism Through Sociological Exploration of Cosmopolitanism: The Trace and Dissemination

Contemporary sociological research has decisively challenged ideas around ‘societies’ as stable and internally consistent social forms akin to national communities at least since Nina Glick-Schiller and Andreas Wimmer (2003) coined the term methodological nationalism. In tandem, sociologists and social scientists have taken a particular interest in understanding the empirical conditions that ground social life within a global society (Agier 2016; Appadurai 1996; Bayat 2013; Beck 2007, 2008; Castells 2009; Cheah and Robbins 1998; Diouf 2002; Kaldor 2003; Mignolo 2000; Urry 2007; Volkmer 2014). This movement departs from conventional discussion around cosmopolitanism, which often centers normative or philosophical debate, as well as questions around institution-building (especially at the transnational level) (see: Correia, forthcoming). Using theoretical concepts derived from the work of Jacques Derrida and other post-phenomenological thinkers—the trace and dissemination—this paper outlines preliminary findings for an ethnology of banal nationalism (Billig 1995) that also problematizes the construction of national symbols, identities and ideals in terms of their borrowings from other cultures and traditions. Through this analysis, I conclude that often even the most quotidian nationalisms are already complicated by their importation of national symbols, and reliance on a global economy for their circulation. To better situate banal nationalisms within a wider context of global socio-economic and political dynamics, I introduce the concepts of the trace and of dissemination to characterize the sociologist as detective —where the task of the sociologist is to uncover deeper and wider relations and circuits through exploration of manifest social practices. The trace indicates the relationship between a manifest social practice or material symbol with an implied—but as yet concealed—set of social processes that condition its existence in space and time, while also being indecipherable without reference to other social milieux or global networks. The sociologist as detective is responsible for uncovering the traces of a global society lurking within the most unexpected of clues. As a compliment to this, dissemination refers to how an economy of traces circulate within those global networks, binding one society to another through their borrowings. Contrary to sociologies of global cultural diffusion, dissemination implies that there is no stable ‘origin’ from which forms of cultural production emerge before they circulate, but that their circuits are the origins of cultural practices more manifestly. In other words, the traces binding national cultures to global social processes also demonstrate that a cosmopolitan society comprised of the circulation of information, establishment of global publics, and harmonization of normative assumptions, already exists. This further entails that nationalist discourses must be understood in light of their incorporations of other (transnational) nationalist discourses. These methodological insights are grounded in a preliminary ethnological analysis of social identity and nationalist symbols in Mission, British Columbia. This includes the circulation of far-right iconography (displaying a decal of the Canada flag on a lifted truck, where the maple leaf also depicts a mirror image of an assault rifle on one side). I argue that our capacity to decipher these cultural images requires a method that is attentive to the circulation of nationalist imagery from ‘elsewhere’—not only the United States, where assault weapons have a particularly strong cultural symbolism, but around the world. In turn, both the cultural elements of nationalist assumptions—beliefs and values, symbols and cultural artifacts—and the material economies—circulating commodities—implies that even the most assertive ‘national’ societies are meaningfully composed of global traces.

Jessie Dong, Yale University

The Cosmopolitan World of Battle Rap: Performing and Contending Authenticity

Battle rap subculture can be considered a ‘cosmopolitan canopy’ (Anderson 2012) where individuals from diverse backgrounds come together to contend – but ultimately share – authentic performances of the self. Battle rap is a sport and artistic platform on which rappers convey iconic self-presentations of historically embedded experiences and personal struggles. For instance, they might use ‘gun bars’ to verbally ‘attack’ their opponents, but in doing so express power, aggression, and rage directed not toward their opponents, but society more generally. Battle rappers frequently make reference to their own personal struggles, whether it be street violence, death, or mental illness, and in these eruptions of direct storytelling communicate broader issues that extend beyond their individual experiences. Ultimately, battle rappers verbally spar in the aim of asserting their authentic self-representation over that of their opponent’s. My research aims to explore how battle rappers as an art and sport ‘perform authenticity’, such that all participants find mutual respect, community, and solidarity despite their paradoxical situation as literal opponents. This research also aims to generate larger observations on performance, masculinity, and intercultural solidarity. This research project will look at battle rap subcultures in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. The battle rap subculture in America features a variety of individuals, the majority being Black Americans coming from urban, low-income backgrounds. Participants of battle rap also include what they call ‘guests of the culture’ – namely white and Asian individuals whose identities are not directly linked to hip hop culture. Meanwhile, the battle rap subculture in the United Kingdom is less embedded in urban ‘street’ culture and features significantly more ‘guests’ to the culture. Battlers rely less on performances of aggression and instead more frequently ‘break down’ their opponents’ characters using humor. The battle rap subculture in Canada features a combination of these two style archetypes. In all scenes, there are often ‘style clashes’ between opponents coming from vastly different cultural backgrounds. I draw on ethnographic observations of battle rap events (n=10, data collection still in process, estimated 15+), textual analysis of battles (n=100+), and in-depth interviews with battle rappers and battle rap league owners (n= 20+, data collection still in process, estimated 40+). This research project is also accompanied by a documentary project aimed toward public audiences. Ultimately, I find that the subculture of battle rap operates under a cultural logic of ‘authenticity’ that displaces the need for explicit articulations of cosmopolitanism and inclusion. In other words, battle rappers of various backgrounds are included by virtue of their skill and commitment to the craft, which demonstrates that they are ‘authentic’. Further, by performing their individual and collective identities through ‘struggle bars’, they open themselves up to vulnerability and gain respect – and by extension inclusion. In battle rap, it is through cultural processes of solidarity-building and artistic expression via authentic self-presentation, not moral justice, that creates the basis on which cosmopolitan belonging is sustained. References: Anderson, Elijah. The Cosmopolitan Canopy: Race and civility in Everyday Life . WW Norton and Company, 2011.