This book started with a symposium at King’s College London, to which a multidisciplinary group of scholars, all working on issues and approaches related to cosmopolitanism, was invited. Fruitful areas of dialogue and overlapping interests emerged. Brill kindly agreed to consider the possibility of publishing the volume proposed. I would like to thank the series editor, George Bryan Souza, and the anonymous reviewers, who helped to shape the considerably revised final manuscript. Helen Hancock played an important role as a stimulating and competent copy editor, since most of the authors were not native English speakers.
The contributors responded extremely well to successive challenges. They engaged with cosmopolitanism from different disciplinary viewpoints, and they reflected deeply on their case studies, presenting the rich cultural and historical dynamic of the diverse intercontinental Portuguese-speaking world. I believe this volume contributes to an ongoing debate on cosmopolitanism, showing its different meanings in time and place. The volume will also help readers to reflect from both above and below on the different layers of cosmopolitanism that define globalisation, challenging the economic and social interests that have crystallised around extreme nationalism.
Finally, I would like to thank the Camões Institute for its support of initiatives connected to the Charles Boxer Chair, particularly the symposium on cosmopolitanism and the production of this book. With this support, we have been enabled to create a small collection of books in English addressing crucial issues in the history and cultures of the Portuguese-speaking world.
Francisco Bethencourt