Another Mishegas: Global Citizenship

Abstract

This article presents an essay about the idea of the global citizen, which has accumulated around the work of international education professionals and practitioners. The propagation of this notion derives from, essentially, two sources: it is a recurrent claim made by study abroad programs and it is used also a means of self-description.The objective is to explore some of the assumptions behind the phrase which, ultimately, do a disservice to the credible aspirations embedded in international education. The phrase when used in a personal context usually describes someone who is, or who aspires to be, broad minded, intellectually engaged with other cultures, aware of the interdependence of nations, committed to tolerance and understanding of difference, and so on. That describes, I will argue, a good citizen. Shared beliefs in international values impose no rights or legal obligations. It is a voluntary, ethical assertion not a form of membership which is one necessary component of citizenship. The global adjective is obfuscation (or, as Leo Rosten might say, a mishegas).