Le rappeur et les « petites grand-mères »

How should cosmopolitanism be approached at the beginning of this century? Is it already possible to envisage its new features? Propositions from certain texts and concepts of Brazilian anthropologist Gilberto Velho serve as a foundation for exploring the idea of a cosmopolitanism detached from its binary opposition with provincialism. Two very different ethnographic cases are studied: one is based on the world of urban rap; the other is based on an artistic experiment conducted in a suburban community. Here cosmopolitanism is more than a lifestyle: it’s the action of a specialist on the move, a mediator who encourages people to change their status, their cultural context and, consequently, their views of the world