At the intersection of postcolonialism, Holocaust commemoration and coming to terms with the past, a controversial debate about the supposed certainties of German remembrance culture has unfolded over the past year. Is the memory of Jewish victims privileged over African victims? The debates that surrounded the opening of the Humboldt Forum in Berlin are now forcing Germany too to confront its colonial past. What distinguishes racism from antisemitism? Hannah Arendt and Edward Said were not the only people to ask such questions in the past. Will it ultimately be possible to remember the victims of the Holocaust and of colonialism without relativizing history?

This presentation revolves around the assertion that in the 21st century, humanity lives in a state of cultural cosmopolitanism. The concept will be discussed and analyzed along two dimensions. The aesthetic dimension, relating to creative artefacts and objects of taste, and the tacit or embodied knowledge dimension, relating to cultural practices in everyday life. I will talk about the global cultural public sphere as the space fostering cultural cosmopolitanism. Examples will be drawn from the cases of popular music, food and clothing.