Cosmopolitanism and Place: Spatial Forms in Contemporary Anglophone Literature

Cosmopolitanism and Place argues that contemporary Anglophone fiction imagines forms of 'territorialized cosmopolitanism,' where apolitical global affiliations are transformed into ethical and political commitments through the characters' interactions with material places. This contrasts with widely circulating images of cosmopolitanism that emphasize a free-floating rootlessness characterized by sophistication and conspicuous consumption. Cosmopolitanism and Place suggests the importance of a cosmopolitanism that engages with the various differences and inequalities that exist among the world community of human beings by examining what cosmopolitanism looks like in places such as the metropolis, the regional city, and rural communities. Bringing together cosmopolitan and cultural geographical discourses, Cosmopolitanism and Place considers cosmopolitan interaction with local places, highlighting connections to others (often made invisible), both physically nearby and distant. Placing cosmopolitanism enables us to re-imagine what it means to be a citizen of the world.

"Johansen shows that the conventional wisdom equating cosmopolitanism with metropolitan life occludes other less urban locales where worldliness thrives. This intervention is smart, timely, and most exciting when it focuses on the weird species called the regional city and that ostensibly less cosmopolitan realm, the country. By reimagining the geography of cosmopolitanism, Johansen gives the concept a much needed reboot." - John Marx, Professor of English, University of California, Davis, USA 

Cosmopolitanism and Place considers the way contemporary Anglophone fiction connects global identities with the experience of living in specific local places. Looking at fiction set in metropolises, regional cities, and rural communities, Emily Johansen argues that the everyday experience of these places produces forms of global connection that emphasize social justice. Bringing together cosmopolitan and cultural geographical discourses, this timely book enables us to re-imagine what it means to be a citizen of the world.

Emily Johansen is Assistant Professor of English at Texas A&M University, USA. Her articles address the question of cosmopolitan responsibility and the everyday nature of globalization and have appeared in Canadian Literature, Postcolonial Text, Politics and Culture, ARIEL, and the Journal of Postcolonial Writing.

Introduction
1. Alternative Cosmopolitanisms in the Metropolis
2. Cosmopolitan Work in the Regional City
3. Cosmopolitanism in Rural Places
Conclusion
Works Cited