Author Archives: Frank Ejby Poulsen, Ph.D.

About Frank Ejby Poulsen, Ph.D.

Education: PhD History, European University Institute, Florence, Italy. MSc Political Science, University of Copenhagen, Denmark. LLB/LLM International law and EU law, University of Paris I Panthéon-Sorbonne, France. Academia Profile: http://eui.academia.edu/FrankEjbyPoulsen Research Gate: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Frank_Poulsen Languages: French: Mother tongue Danish: C2 English: C2 Italian: C1 German: B2-C1 Spanish: A2-B1 Norwegian and Swedish: reading comprehension Latin

Back in France: diversity and integration

Posted on 29 October 2008 by Frank Ejby Poulsen, Ph.D.

I am back in France and have been staying for a month now. I left about 7-8 years ago and only came back a few days twice a year for season holidays to visit my parents. My contact with French … Continue reading →

Posted in Cosmopolitan comments on the news, Cosmopolitan experiences, Research themes | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Obama the first cosmopolitan politician

Posted on 20 October 2008 by Frank Ejby Poulsen, Ph.D.

Will Obama be the first cosmopolitan elected official? Everything points to an affirmative answer — on both counts. Surely, he is the first ever to be so multicultural with a Kenyan father, a US citizen mother, born in Hawaii, raised … Continue reading →

Posted in Cosmopolitan comments on the news | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

Rousseau et le paradoxe d’une pensée cosmopolitique anti-cosmopolite

Posted on 19 October 2008 by Frank Ejby Poulsen, Ph.D.

Dans la pensée de Rousseau, il y a un paradoxe sur lequel on se penche de plus en plus. Une certaine acrimonie face aux cosmopolites, alors que Rousseau exprime une pensée cosmopolitique en reprenant le grand projet de Saint-Pierre d’une … Continue reading →

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Cosmopolite, cosmopolitain, cosmopolitisme: définitions et problèmes

Posted on 17 October 2008 by Frank Ejby Poulsen, Ph.D.

Que faut-il comprendre aujourd’hui des mots cosmopolite, cosmopolitisme ? D’abord si l’on reprend ‘histoire de l’apparition de ces mots, il faut bien se rendre à l’évidence que notre conception actuelle est liée au paradigme dominant du nationalisme qui nous pousse … Continue reading →

Posted in Cosmopolitanism, Eighteenth century, Research projects, Research themes | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Scandinavian literary weekend

Posted on 13 October 2008 by Frank Ejby Poulsen, Ph.D.

This weekend was under the sign of cosmopolitan literature. First of all, Jean-Marie Gustave Le Clézio received the Nobel Prize in literature: ‘author of new departures, poetic adventure and sensual ecstasy, explorer of a humanity beyond and below the reigning … Continue reading →

Posted in Cosmopolitan experiences | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

Thesis graded

Posted on 7 October 2008 by Frank Ejby Poulsen, Ph.D.

My thesis has been graded and I received the best grade possible in the Danish system: 12. That makes it an A in the ECTS system. Plus an excellent assessment of my work by my supervisor and my ‘censor’. I … Continue reading →

Posted in MA thesis, Research projects | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Looking for a job in London

Posted on 27 August 2008 by Frank Ejby Poulsen, Ph.D.

I am currently unable to find some time to post more on cosmopolitanism. I am dividing my time between my current part-time job, and my job search as I am moving to London on 1 October. I am also looking … Continue reading →

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The state of the Iranian state

Posted on 12 August 2008 by Frank Ejby Poulsen, Ph.D.

My Armenian Iranian friends tell me a lot about the state of the Iranian state — or the lack thereof. I was surprised to hear that there are no taxes in Iran, neither direct or indirect. Sounds like paradise for … Continue reading →

Posted in Cosmopolitan experiences | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

Master’s thesis submited

Posted on 6 August 2008 by Frank Ejby Poulsen, Ph.D.

Today I submitted my master’s thesis; three copies by snail mail — I had to choose airmail for the shortest possible delay. I guess that makes it the less environmental-friendly thesis of all. Now I am crossing my fingers for … Continue reading →

Posted in MA thesis, NICTs for academics | 7 Comments

Link to RSF’s advice for foreign journalists covering human rights situation during Beijing Games

Posted on 2 August 2008 by Frank Ejby Poulsen, Ph.D.

So it seems that the next Olympic games will be a tremendous communication-information-sign-warfare. In this communication battle that history showed totalitarian regimes always win — although they do not win the war — democratic countries are most probably going to … Continue reading →

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Ulrich Beck: A New Cosmopolitanism is in the Air

Posted on 1 August 2008 by Frank Ejby Poulsen, Ph.D.

Here is a link to an article by German sociologist Ulrich Beck published in November 2007, which is a translation of the original into English: http://www.signandsight.com/features/1603.html It is quite summing up the arguments developed in his three last books on … Continue reading →

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Todorov: La conquête de l’Amérique, La question de l’autre

Posted on 31 July 2008 by Frank Ejby Poulsen, Ph.D.

Todorov, Tzvetan. La conquête de l’Amérique : la question de l’autre. Paris: Seuil, 1982. In this book, Tzvetan Todorov, renowned Franco-Bulgarian writer and director of research at the Centre National de Recherches (CNRS) in Paris, investigates the Spanish conquest of … Continue reading →

Posted in Book reviews, Cosmopolitan experiences | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Armenian Iranian refugees in Vienna

Posted on 28 July 2008 by Frank Ejby Poulsen, Ph.D.

In Vienna I have been living in a student hall of residence for two years. Not all rooms are rented to students. Some are also rented to Iranian refugees of Armenian decent — the most important Christian minority in Iran. … Continue reading →

Posted in Cosmopolitan experiences | Tagged , , , , , | 3 Comments

Idea for a wiki project site on cosmopolitanism

Posted on 27 July 2008 by Frank Ejby Poulsen, Ph.D.

I am fairly new to the blogosphere, and I found a cool blog for academics, especially in the humanities, advising on the latest NICTs for educational purpose–academhack, which is listed in my blog links on the right navigation bar. There’s … Continue reading →

Posted in NICTs for academics, Research projects, Wikis | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Obama in Berlin: ich bin ein Weltbürger?

Posted on 25 July 2008 by Frank Ejby Poulsen, Ph.D.

Senator Barck Obama was Thursday 24 July 2008 in Berlin where he delivered his much anticipated speech in front of a massive crowd. Of course the reference to “ich bin ein Berliner” was obvious and too easy to mention. He opened his speech toning down expectations, stating he was there as a simple US citizen, and a “citizen of the world.” Rhetorically he is leaving it up to the media coverage to make the link: “ich bin ein Weltbürger.”

To my knowledge, this must be one of the very first time a politician declares so openly a cosmopolitan ideal to be his. There is certainly much to celebrate for a cosmopolitan in this speech, but I would like to present a few remarks as to the alleged cosmopolitan nature of his commitment. Continue reading →

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Foucault and the academe

Posted on 16 July 2008 by Frank Ejby Poulsen, Ph.D.

Personally I do not understand at all where most of the people who write about Foucault or use Foucault in their studies (particularly in the fields of sociology and philosophy) get their interpretation of Foucault from. When I started to … Continue reading →

Posted in Foucault, Method in the history of ideas | 2 Comments

MA thesis abstract

Posted on 13 July 2008 by Frank Ejby Poulsen, Ph.D.

I have now finished writing my thesis, which only needs a very last light-editing touch. As a teaser, I publish here the abstract: Cosmopolitanism is not a well-known entity in political theory. Therefore, a history of this political doctrine is … Continue reading →

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Deadline

Posted on 19 June 2008 by Frank Ejby Poulsen, Ph.D.

I have a deadline to keep. I should be finished by the end of the month, i.e. Monday 30 June 2008. All I have left to do is some final round of editing, cutting 47,000 words to 35,000, proofreading, and … Continue reading →

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Encouraging words

Posted on 15 June 2008 by Frank Ejby Poulsen, Ph.D.

I received on 9 June some very encouraging words from my academic supervisor,  who commented on the draft of my MA thesis I sent him, congratulating me for my “nice piece of work”, and also stating that he was “impressed … Continue reading →

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Setting up a new blog on my research activities

Posted on 1 June 2008 by Frank Ejby Poulsen, Ph.D.

I have decided to set up a new weblog in order to publicise my research activities and personal research themes and projects. I hope to create a network of interest around my activities, make myself known, and get acquainted with … Continue reading →

Posted in Cosmopolitanism, MA thesis, Method in the history of ideas, Research projects, Research themes | 2 Comments