ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses an assumed characteristic of Europe as a cosmopolitan and entangled society. It examines whether a transcultural lens allows for a more precise picture of the consequences that processes of exchange can have for the social fabric of European society. The chapter investigates whether presumed transcultural diversity can offer trust and security, and to what extent the concept of transculturality has to undergo a transformation from a rather descriptive mode to that of an analytical tool. It focuses on a history of Europe after the global turn by reversing the analytical lens. Several publications of transcultural studies have described dense, multilayered exchange processes across geopolitical, ideological and religious borders. The chapter examines densification and reduction of transcultural entanglements in three different historical contexts: the ephemeral other; new men and women do not nomadize and racist emptiness.
