Columbus Was a Cosmopolitan

In “Pop Cosmopolitanism,” Henry Jenkins states pop cosmopolitanism as “someone whose embrace of global popular media represents an escape route out of parochialism of” their “local community” (Jenkins, 1).  Jenkins also says that the typical cosmopolitan will “embrace cultural difference, seeking to escape the gravitational pull of their local communities in order to enter a broader sphere of cultural experience” (Jenkins, 2).  To me, Jenkins wants his readers to think of pop cosmopolitanism as a person who leaves their own community that they are comfortable with for a different culture all together.  The typical cosmopolitan today in intrigued by international “food, dance, music, art, or literature” (Jenkins, 2).  Throughout the reading, Jenkins wants to emphasize  “how and why Asian pop culture is shaping American entertainment” (Jenkins, 2).  

I think that Henry Jenkins would have called Christopher Columbus a cosmopolitan.  This is because as Columbus was a world traveler, he was very intrigued with the outside world.  He wanted to know and learn about different people, different technologies, and different land.  He wanted to leave his world, in which he was comfortable with, and explore a new one.  Even though he actually didn’t discover America, he opened the threshold to the exploration of two mighty continents.