The Changing Fortunes of Cosmopolitanism

IWM Lectures in Human Sciences

The intense interest in cosmopolitanism in the social and political sciences, cultural and legal studies dates back to the last two decades of the twentieth century. With the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, the reunification of Germany, and the extension of the European Union to east and central European countries formerly under Communist rule, the Kantian cosmopolitan ideal of uniting diverse countries under the rule of law, respect for human rights and the free exchange of goods and services seemed to come alive. By the beginning of the new century, cosmopolitanism had fallen on hard times. This lecture series will defend cosmopolitanism from below by engaging with the postcolonial critiques of Kantian thought, voiced by James Tully, Inez Valdez, Sylvia Wynter and Walter Mignolo.

I. Kantian Cosmopolitanism and its Critics
Thursday 5 October 2023, 18:30 CEST, Großer Festsaal, Universität Wien, Universitätsring 1

II. From the Hermeneutics of Suspicion to Reconstructing Cosmopolitan Law
Wednesday 17 October 2023, 18:30 CEST, Skylounge, Oskar-Morgenstern Platz 1 (entrance via Berggasse)

This lecture was originally scheduled for 11 October 2023 and has been postponed to Tuesday, 17 October 2023.

III. The Globe as World, Earth, and Planet
Thursday 19 October 2023, 18:30 CEST Wednesday 11 October 2023, 18:30 CEST, Hörsaal 14, Oskar-Morgenstern Platz 1 (entrance via Berggasse)

Please register here: https://civi.iwm.at/content/event-registration-hermeneutics-suspicion-reconstructing-cosmopolitan-law

A cooperation of:
Institut für die Wissenschaften vom Menschen (IWM)
Institut für Kultur- und Sozialanthropologie der Universität Wien
Institut für Philosophie der Universität Wien
Institut für Politikwissenschaft der Universität Wien
Institut für Soziologie der Universität Wien