Cosmopolitanism, sociology and the otherness of the other

Argyrou, Vassos

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.

Citation

Argyrou, V. (2015). Cosmopolitanism, sociology and the otherness of the other. Cultural dynamics, 27(3), 341-356. https://doi.org/10.1177/0921374015592653

• Acceptance Date: Jun 29, 2015
• Online Publication Date: Jun 29, 2015
• Publication Date: 2015-11
• Deposit Date: Nov 3, 2015
• Publicly Available Date: Nov 23, 2017
• Journal: Cultural dynamics
• Print ISSN: 0921-3740
• Electronic ISSN: 1461-7048
• Publisher: SAGE Publications
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 27
• Issue: 3
• Pages: 341-356
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0921374015592653
• Keywords: Autoimmunity; Cosmopolitanism; Modernity; Otherness; Sociology
• Public URL: https://hull-repository.worktribe.com/output/380791
• Publisher URL: http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0921374015592653
• Additional Information: Author's accepted manuscript of article published in: Cultural dynamics, 2015, v.27, issue 3.