Young people’s trajectories into cultural cosmopolitanism

Abstract

The authors begin by setting out the scope of this article, which is to address the question of cultural cosmopolitanism. They will then outline their justification for concentrating on young people. In particular, they will focus on several broad types of identifiable trajectories and temporalities, which they will designate as follows: “ground zero cosmopolitanism,” which will enable them to pinpoint the historical sources that have a bearing on whether or not someone adopts cosmopolitan orientations; “asymmetrical cosmopolitanism,” which expresses the wide range of degrees of intensity in the cultural interests in play; the few cases of clearly asserted cosmopolitanism; and finally, the cases that blaze a trail into and out of the cosmopolitan universe, often prompted by a combination of personal, social, professional, and other trajectories.