Cosmopolitan Sociability in the British and International Federations of University Women, 1945–1960

ABSTRACTThe article highlights the significance of sociability in the activities of the British and International Federations of University Women in the long 1950s. Much of the activity centred on Crosby Hall, the ‘International Clubhouse’ in London for overseas and British graduate women. Ideas of cosmopolitanism and sociability can be traced back to the Enlightenment. The article draws on Glick Schiller et al.'s discussion of cosmopolitan sociability in a transnational age, and suggests that a gendered and historical perspective highlights the significance of events which might appear somewhat marginal compared with more formal political activities. Both Noah Sobe and Thomas Popkewitz have recently highlighted the exclusionary, as well as the inclusive, possibilities of cosmopolitanism. The nature, preparation and importance placed on social events in local, national and international networks demonstrates the centrality of the social in promoting the successful outcome of the more formal activities of the Federations on the public stage.