Graduate Student, History and Civilization
PhD Researcher
Thesis Title: A History of Cosmopolitanism in Western Political Thought: a Return to the Enlightenment
About
My research project at the European University Institute is to write a history of cosmopolitanism in Western political thought focusing on the Enlightenment in French, English, and German works. In this research, cosmopolitanism is not narrowly equated with the cosmopolitan/citizen of the world and/or cosmopolis/world government, nor is it given a definition, which runs the risk of being deterministic and anachronistic. Instead, cosmopolitanism is analysed from its contemporary understanding as a discourse composed of compounds (e.g. concepts, objects, theories), and situated between nationalism/patriotism and universalism. These compounds forming this contemporary discourse are then historically described during the Enlightenment understood as a unity. In particular, and originally, concepts/objects/subjects such as 'nation', 'patrie' and 'cosmopolitan' are detached from nation-alism, patri-otism and cosmopolitan-ism. The objective is twofold: first, to fill the gap in scholarship on the historiography of this branch of political thought; second, to participate, hereby, in the contemporary debates on cosmopolitanism in political and legal theories.
Contact Information
http://frankejbypoulsen.wordpress.com
European University Institute
Department of History and Civilisation
Villa Schifanoia
Via Boccaccio 121
I-50133 Firenze
Italy
[+39] 055 468 52 76
Skype: frank.ejby.poulsen
