Becoming the Change We Want to See: Critical Study Abroad for a Tumultuous World

Authors

  • Doug Reilly
  • Stefan Senders

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.36366/frontiers.v18i1.265

Keywords:

Critical study abroad, Study abroad, International education, Education abroad

Abstract

Buzzwords like "global competency" sound compelling initially, but without a critical definition, the danger is that the rhetoric becomes an empty sales pitch. In this essay, we argue that we can no longer afford to allow study abroad to be reduced to such catchphrases. We propose a new model for understanding the work of study abroad; Critical Study Abroad. Critical Study Abroad is a structured way of framing our work with direct reference to the current state of the world, and it suggests concrete changes in the work of our programs. It rejects many of the assumptions of previous frames: in place of class-reproduction it offers class-analysis; in place of self-development through accumulation it offers self-development through commitment; in place of internationalism it offers a critical and global perspective; in place of “global competence,” it offers global citizenship. Critical Study Abroad requires that we reevaluate our knowledge production and our teaching, and more specifically, that we reconstitute the field in which study abroad operates.

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Author Biographies

Doug Reilly

Doug Reilly is Programming Coordinator, Hobart and William Smith Colleges (HWS) and Union College Partnership for Global Education & HWS’s Center for Global Education. Doug’s mission for the last eight years has been to innovate pre-departure and reentry programs that help study abroad students make the most of their experiences. He teaches digital storytelling and independent publishing (zines), edits The Aleph: a journal of global perspectives, a creative journal for returning study abroad students and hosts Away Café, an “open-mic night for stories that cross borders.” Doug has twice co-facilitated NITLE’s popular Multimedia Narrative (digital storytelling) workshop. He holds a Masters in International Relations from the Maxwell School at Syracuse University and served in the Peace Corps (Slovakia ‘99-01).

Stefan Senders

Stefan Senders is a visiting scholar in the Cornell Peace Studies Program and senior instructor in psychiatry at the University of Rochester Center for the Study and Prevention of Suicide. He is currently conducting research on suicide hotlines and on knowledge production in suicide studies, and is developing an interdisciplinary research program on post-conflict societies.

References

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Published

2009-08-15

How to Cite

Reilly , D., & Senders, S. (2009). Becoming the Change We Want to See: Critical Study Abroad for a Tumultuous World. Frontiers: The Interdisciplinary Journal of Study Abroad, 18(1), 241–267. https://doi.org/10.36366/frontiers.v18i1.265

Issue

Section

Research Articles