Methodological Cosmopolitanism

Social sciences have been opening up to global transformations and categories since the 1990s. Indeed, the "global" has become the centre of a new self-critical discourse in the social sciences. However, its theories and research routines remain stuck in the observation categories and interpretation patterns of the "national". Their implicit assumption is that "modern society" and "modern politics" can only exist when organized along nation-state lines. Research questions as well as political and social questions emerging due to the increasing incongruence of boundaries cannot be satisfactorily answered in the framework of this "methodological nationalism" –be it empirically or theoretically. Social relations and symbols that undermine or cross-link the attributions to state or territory can be neither perceived nor analysed. So this research focus is concerned with what it considers as a necessary "cosmopolitan turn" in social science research and theory formation, not just from a thematic but especially from a methodological perspective. A key question arising from methodological cosmopolitanism is: which unit of analysis can be taken as a starting point for social theory and research? Or more precisely: How can one find and define units of analysis beyond methodological nationalism that allow for a comparative analysis of the variations in cosmopolitan modernity?

Spokesperson

• Prof. em. Dr. Ulrich Beck
  (Faculty of Social Science, Institute for Sociology, LMU)

Cooperation Partner

• Prof. Martin Albrow
  (The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), England)
• Prof. Natan Sznaider
  (Academic College of Tel-Aviv-Yaffo, Israel)

Events

• Workshop – "Cosmpolitan Climate"
  (Winter Semester 2010/11)
• International Workshop – "Methodological Cosmopolitanism: Theories and Practices"
  (Summer Semester 2012)

Press

•  "Michael Krons im Gespräch mit Ulrich Beck"– Filmbeitrag in der Reihe IM DIALOG auf phoenix am 16. Februar 2013