Page 251 - Contemporary Political Sociology Globalization Politics and Power

Glossary

cosmopolitanism: In social and political debates today, cosmopolitanism
generally means detachment from the nation in favor of a commitment
to universal values of humanity. It is useful to distinguish political from
cultural cosmopolitanism. Political cosmopolitanism is concerned with
the institutions necessary for global democracy, justice, and peace. Cultural
cosmopolitanism is concerned with the experience of oneself as a person
who is at home anywhere in the world.

cultural politics: There are at least four ways in which the term is used:

1 The politics of cultural representations: for example, Stuart Hall charts

the shift from a politics of “ the relations of representation ” to a poli-
tics of “ representation itself ” (Hall, 1992b: 253).
2 The politics of cultural production: the way in which it is organized,

promoted, or suppressed in, for example, education, broadcasting,
and trade policy (Street, 1997b).
3 The politics of what counts as culture and who is marginalized or

excluded from its production (Jordan and Weedon, 1995 : 7).
4 The politics of signifying practices through which identities, social

relations, and rules are contested, subverted, and may be transformed.
This is the sense with which this book is predominantly concerned.
culture: The best analysis of the term is still that of Raymond Williams.

It is used in at least four different ways:

1 “ A general process of intellectual, spiritual, and aesthetic develop-

ment ” as in, “ She is a cultured person. ”