Injecting cosmopolitanism into the geography classroom

Abstract

Cosmopolitanism is an ethical, moral, and political philosophy with profound geographical implications. In extending circles of compassion to a worldwide scale, it encourages respect for difference, including the concerns of distant strangers. This essay outlines the precepts of cosmopolitanism, its historical development, and the challenges it poses to nationalism. It justifies teaching cosmopolitanism in geography courses based on the need for empathetic understanding in an age of intense globalization. It offers strategies for teaching cosmopolitanism that seek to challenge students' geographical imaginations, including the author's experiences. The conclusion links teaching cosmopolitanism to geographies of care and caring.

Textbooks in Human Geography: An American perspective

“…I have a passionate interest in geographic education because it is too important to be hampered by insipid textbooks, and have published on the topic repeatedly (Warf, , , ). Largely due to my dissatisfaction with existing texts, I authored or co‐authored three Human Geography textbooks (Harrington & Warf, ; Stutz & Warf, ; Warf, ). One, an Economic Geography textbook titled The world economy , has sold remarkably well, with widespread audiences in many countries.…”

“…Largely due to my dissatisfaction with existing texts, I authored or co-authored three Human Geography textbooks (Harrington & Warf, 1995;Stutz & Warf, 2011;Warf, 2015b). One, an Economic Geography textbook titled The world economy, has sold remarkably well, with widespread audiences in many countries.…”