Conferences & Symposia

Celebratory 20th Anniversary HISB Conference
Cosmopolitanism and Globalization: Memory·Spaces·Cities·Images

October 10 to 13, 2007
Humanities Institute at Stony Brook, Humanities Room 1006

Cosmopolitanism is the default condition of all societies, even if this is often denied. There are no cultures that are not the result of some cultural encounter, even if these have been violent and unequal. Cosmopolitanism is the civic and intellectual stance that reveres and respects the uniqueness of each culture. Scholars have increasingly debated the virtues and dangers of moral , political and economic cosmopolitanism. Marx and Engels critiqued economic cosmopolitanism as an ideological reflection of capitalism, tied to the effects of a capitalist globalization serving only bourgeois interests, while nevertheless arguing for a proletariat commonality. Meanwhile, the Enlightenment thinker Immanuel Kant thought that he did not live in an enlightened age, but one of enlightenment. Today, we can claim that we do not live in a cosmopolitan age, but in an age of cosmopolitanisms.

This conference seeks to interrogate the usefulness of cosmopolitanism as a concept for understanding and contributing to our current historical, cultural and political movement. In the context of the history, theory and philosophy of cosmopolitanism, we will focus specifically on the city, as the most cosmopolitan of places today. Questions of nation, race, and gender will be addressed along with intersections of globalization with universalism. The impact of global digital and other media will be central.

We have a list of distinguished scholars, artists, and performers who have agreed to participate in the conference.

 

Conference Participants | Conference Schedule | Registration and Accommodations