Conclusion

Abstract

After exploring both the syncretic and destabilizing powers of cosmopolitanism, this final chapter draws connections between the previous historical case studies and contemporary issues of race and belonging. Reflecting on the perpetual expansion and contraction of identities amidst the often-conflicting imperatives of artists, this chapter also displays how cosmopolitanism’s disparate powers coexist because they are born of the same source: the need to connect the self with the Other. It argues that the “problem” of cosmopolitanism is one that is ultimately defined by a conscious level of interactionism, which is situated on a sliding scale between integration and isolation. It also offers a list of critical considerations in the spirit of Robert Bolton’s “Ten Theses on Cosmopolitanism.” Taken together, this conclusion lays bare the ways in which the process of promoting Nordic cultures led to a celebration of only the Nordic cause—a pressing reminder of dangers not yet extinguished.