Imaginative geographies of international student mobility

Abstract

This paper extends interdisciplinary research into young people’s experiences of studying abroad. Whilst there is ample evidence for the growing significance of international student mobility in shaping young people’s identities and future life chances, few efforts have been made to account for the perspectives of young people who have no first-hand experiences of travelling abroad. Building on the concept of imaginative geographies, this paper flips around the analytical lens used to explore representations of international student mobility and develops a nuanced understanding of the ways in which mass-mediated images and discourses shape understandings of self and others. Drawing on field research conducted with Nepali university students in Kathmandu, the first part of the analysis makes evident that a greater degree of global connectivity between young people studying at home and abroad does not necessarily translate into a fuller understanding of distant places and people, as these connections are always underpinned by local status hierarchies. The second part of the analysis calls attention to the various ways in which dominant imaginaries of mobility and place are being internalised and reworked differently depending on people’s social identities and their lived experiences. The findings presented in this paper therefore contribute to broader debates in geographical research on the uneven power relations that underpin mobility practices and shape people’s identities in an interconnected world.

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