Academic discussions of cosmopolitanism have been reinvigorated in the context of contemporary processes of globalization, transnational mobilities, and multicultural urbanism, resulting in a substantial literature reflecting a range of disciplinary approaches and academic debates (Rovisco and Nowicka 2011; Inglis 2014). Cosmopolitanism involves both: 1) a philosophy and political project of world citizenship; as well as 2) an intellectual or aesthetic disposition and set of practices premised on “openness towards divergent cultural experiences” (Hannerz 1996: 103) and global awareness (Binnie et al. 2006; Urry 2000). We situate our research within an emerging sociology of cosmopolitanism, characterized by a concern with the ways in which cosmopolitanism emerges in everyday life, including through market processes and practices of consumption in contemporary consumer culture. Within consumer culture, global brands are prominent platforms where individuals encounter images of cultural diversity, principles of global social and environmental responsibility, and opportunities to engage cosmopolitan practices, yet little academic attention has been paid to investigating the ways in which cosmopolitan consumption is articulated and supported by such market cultural forms and broader market arrangements. What kinds of cosmopolitanism surface as a result? The purpose of our project is to remedy this gap by exploring the emergence of particular kinds of cosmopolitanism and cosmopolitan practice, as they emerge from entangled processes of everyday consumption, brands and branding activity, as well as broader market arrangements.
Our proposed research will use multiple qualitative methods to explore the main research question through a series of three interrelated objectives. Objective 1: to determine how cosmopolitan consumption is mediated and supported by global companies and their brands, particularly through implementing corporate social responsibility (CSR) programs and communicating these through the brand interface. In basic terms, CSR refers to “business responsibilities for the social good” (Crane and Seitanidi 2014: 4), which is articulated in a range of social goals and actions, including ethical business behaviour, support of non-profit organizations, fair treatment of employers and suppliers, and concern for the environment (Rizkallah 2012; Mohr, Webb and Harris 2001). In many ways, CSR reflects cosmopolitan principles, including openness to the world, as well as a commitment to global communities and environments. How does this translate, via brands, to cosmopolitan consumption? Employing a critical lens, we analyze the limitations and contradictions of such brand-led cosmopolitanism, as well as the tensions and gaps between CSR rhetoric, branding activity, and consumer engagement.
Objective 2: to examine how Canadian consumers use, negotiate, and relate to cosmopolitan experiences or practices (e.g. purchasing organic coffee or recycling clothes to demonstrate environmental responsibility) assembled by companies and their brands, and what meanings consumers make of such activity. In other words, how does cosmopolitan consumption inform our identities (e.g. as Canadians and world citizens) and culture? How do individuals acquire and learn cosmopolitan aptitudes, orientations, and practices though cosmopolitan consumption? Who has access to such consumption, and in what ways is it implicated in the reproduction of social and cultural inequalities? Following an emphasis on “actually existing” cosmopolitanisms (Robbins 1998) in sociological work, and against approaches that engage cosmopolitanism primarily as an abstract concept or a philosophical ideal, we will explore the kinds of cosmopolitanisms that surface through the dynamic interplay of market structures, culture, and consumption.
Objective 3: using a novel theoretical and methodological approach that bridges micro-, meso-, and macro-societal levels, we investigate how cosmopolitan consumption is influenced by broader economic, political, and social institutions, power relations, and market developments. We will critically examine how these broader structures and processes shape market-based cosmopolitan principles, initiatives, and possibilities. For example, how do CSR programs reflect broader neoliberal market imperatives? In what ways do global organizations such as the United Nations, and powerful corporate networks in areas such as finance influence discourses and practices of CSR and shape brand-led cosmopolitan visions? Using a critical approach, we interrogate the tensions, contradictions, and limitations of such forms of cosmopolitanism and how they surface in and through particular institutions, networks, and relations of power at the macro-level.
Our project will make an important contribution to the development of a sociology of cosmopolitanism. It will produce empirically-informed insight regarding the specificities of Canadian cosmopolitanism, and it will instruct thinking about practical and everyday cosmopolitanism. By focusing on the form cosmopolitanism takes in the context of “moral markets” and consumer culture, we contribute a multi-level analysis, addressing the macro-, meso-, and micro- dimensions of cosmopolitanism as it surfaces through complex entanglements of global economic institutions and networks, companies and their brands, corporate social responsibility discourse and practice, and individuals who express aspects of cosmopolitanism via consumption activity. This research will be of interest to a range of sociological and interdisciplinary academic communities across Canada and internationally, including scholars of globalization and cosmopolitanism, culture and consumption, and social theory.
This Project is supported by funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council.