1Ordinary Cosmopolitanisms: Strategies for Bridging Boundaries among Non-College Educated Workers

2Ongoing discussions about cosmopolitanism are often slanted toward elite cosmopolitanism. The Enlightenment, the République des l ttres, and the “universalistic ” European culture of intellectuals are among the main points of reference used to define cosmopolitanism. In the case of Ulf Hannerz (1996), cosmopolitanism is largely defined in terms of an upper-middle class occupational and experiential culture that implies a voyeuristic appreciation of other lifestyles. In contrast, I move the discussion in a new direction in order to explore ordinary cosmopolitanisms, defined as the strategies used by ordinary people to bridge boundaries with people who are different from them.1 This argument speaks to the issue of cosmopolitanism to the extent that the latter is often conceptualized in terms of allegiance to the community of humankind, of the breaking down of boundaries and acceptance of differences, and in opposition to the drawing of boundaries exemplified by nationalism or the promotion of primary allegiances (Nussbaum 1996). Along with Michael Ignatieff (1999), I take cosmopolitanism to refer to a moral commitment to universals. However, unlike Ignat eff and Beck (1998), I do not ground it in abstract moral choices (in “what one chooses to make oneself”), but in the cultural repertoire