Critical Internationalization: Moving from Theory to Practice
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.18275/fire201502021036Keywords:
internationalization, international higher education, study abroad, critical theory, symbolic capitalAbstract
This article utilizes critical social theory to illuminate structures of inequality that undergird certain practices of internationalization in higher education institutions, particularly in U.S. institutions. We demonstrate how such theory can be productively employed to analyze three key dimensions of contemporary internationalization: 1) a representational dimension, 2) a political-economic dimension, and 3) a symbolic capital dimension. We argue that these three elements are central to any critical conceptualization of internationalization that has at its core a consideration of equity, ethics, and social justice. The overarching goal of this article is to illustrate how critical social theory can foster more extensive debate regarding the material and ideological systems of exclusion in international education and contribute to the task of reimagining internationalization. The full text of the article can be found at 10.18275/fire201502021036Published
2018-12-06
How to Cite
Vavrus, F., & Pekol, A. (2018). Critical Internationalization: Moving from Theory to Practice. FIRE: Forum for International Research in Education, 2(2). https://doi.org/10.18275/fire201502021036
Issue
Section
Articles
License
This is an open access journal which means that all content is freely available without charge to the user or his/her institution. Users are allowed to read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, or link to the full texts of the articles, or use them for any other lawful purpose, without asking prior permission from the publisher or the author. This is in accordance with the BOAI definition of open access. FIRE ISSN: 2326-3873.