Abstract

This article is concerned with the ‘cosmopolitan turn’ in sociology and examines the ways in which the discipline attempts to come to terms with the otherness of the other as a corrective to its own Eurocentrism. It examines in particular the pluralisation of the notion of modernity and argues that although this strategy allows sociology to maintain its disciplinary identity, it falls short of the aim of transforming the discipline into a cosmopolitan discourse. More broadly, the article argues that cosmopolitanism is not a possible object of experience. Like other idealisations, it is plagued by what Derrida calls ‘autoimmunity’ – the tendency to self-destruct.

Highlights

  • This paper is concerned with the ‘cosmopolitan turn’ in sociology and examines the ways in which the discipline attempts to come to terms with the otherness of the other as a corrective to its own Eurocentrism

  • I will, approach cosmopolitan sociology’s salvation intent from a critical, postcolonial perspective, even though my aim is not to argue for the pluralisation of the notion of cosmopolitanism as postcolonial scholarship often does (e.g. Pollock et al, 2000; Spivak, 2012). Rather, to subject this notion to a rigorous deconstructive examination. For this reason the perspective employed here cannot be that of postcolonial sociology either

  • Putting the matter in this way— highlighting, that is, cosmopolitan sociology’s metaphysical intention—the new discipline emerges as a lost cause

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Summary

Introduction

This paper is concerned with the ‘cosmopolitan turn’ in sociology and examines the ways in which the discipline attempts to come to terms with the otherness of the other as a corrective to its own Eurocentrism. As the proponents of this move argue, the aim is to transform sociology into a cosmopolitan discipline—open-minded, open to the world beyond Europe and the West, receptive to cultural difference, respectful of the otherness of the other. Given the cultural diversity and difference in the world, can sociology become cosmopolitan and remain sociology—a discipline premised on the idea of modernity and the teleology of progress?

Results
Conclusion

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