Modern Asian Studies

Table of Contents - March 2012 - Volume 46, Special Issue 02 (Sites of Asian Interaction)  

Research Article

Living in the Material World: Cosmopolitanism and trade in early twentieth century Ladakh

JACQUELINE H. FEWKESa1

a1 Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College, Florida Atlantic University, 5353 Parkside Drive, Jupiter, FL 33458, USA Email: jfewkes@fau.edu

Abstract

The historical trading communities of early twentieth century Ladakh, in northern India, interacted with multiple cultures through both travel and the flow of trade goods. Using a neo-pragmatic philosophical framework, I will argue that this community—largely rural and commonly thought of as isolated—was, in fact, cosmopolitan. The traders' interactions with specific commodities prompted them to traverse cultural boundaries and engage with new ideas. This view of cosmopolitanism suggests that, while particular economic, political or social contexts may be part of the settings in which both individuals and communities are engaged in cosmopolitan processes, contexts do not define the cosmopolitan.

(Online publication March 02 2012)