Towards an ‘ordinary’ cosmopolitanism in everyday academic practice in higher education

Abstract

In this article, we explore what cosmopolitanism looks like in particular institutional contexts in higher education and the sorts of conditions and pedagogic practices which nurture and sustain this within the overall running and administration of the institution. Cosmopolitanism is sometimes popularly assumed to refer to the global and the culturally diverse, rather as if encounters with different cultures and ethnicities from different geographical locations could add up to a cosmopolitan perspective. Our view of cosmopolitanism and our concern start from local and everyday occurrences or ‘ordinary cosmopolitanism’ in the context of higher education. We develop an understanding of cosmopolitanism as embedded practice in the particularities of local institutional contexts and administration and what cosmopolitanism means in the ‘local’. Small illustrative sketches are drawn on to exemplify aspects of ‘ordinary cosmopolitanism’ – what it is, why it is important and its enactment in everyday academic practice in higher education

Pre-figurative practice and the educational leadership of Sir Alec Clegg in the West Riding of Yorkshire, England (1945–1974)

“…His leadership was situated in the 'ordinariness' of everyday practices (see Su and Wood, 2017a) and we suggest that this represents a 'cosmopolitan outlook' which was informed by locally-situated knowledge drawn from the varied and specific cultural, political and social contexts of the West Riding. Su and Wood (2017b) argue that educational leadership needs such a cosmopolitan outlook to respond to the local and the wider worlds we inhabit.…”

Cosmopolitanism, the global middle class and education: the case of universities in London

“…Cosmopolitanism is a concept with a chequered history over recent decades, with occasional resurgences to address new areas of social inquiry. The term itself has a long history being traced back to Cynics of the fourth-century BC (Appiah 2007, xii, cited in Su andWood 2017a) who defined 'cosmopolitanism' as a 'citizen of the cosmos', a conception to which Nussbuam (1994) referred to as 'the person whose allegiance is to the world-wide community of human being'. Over its long history the term and its meanings has been subject to constant revision especially in the face of the recent decades of globalisation.…”

“…The cosmopolitans themselves embodying not only an openness to foreign and other cultures but also the competencies and practices to partake in cosmopolitan life. Importantly this conception should not be conflated with those individuals of what can be called 'ordinary', 'banal' or 'consumerist' cosmopolitanism discussed elsewhere, that primarily concern themselves with the consumption of global brands, tourism and multicultural food (Beck 2001;Calhoun 2002;Su and Wood 2017a;Szerszynski and Urry 2006).…”