A Bourdieusian study of international students’ lifeworlds: multiplicity in a “twisted space”

Abstract

This study explores the tensions and dynamics embedded in the lifeworlds of international students. Data were drawn from an Australian study, including interviews with 16 international students and nine community members supporting international students through their professional work. Building on the under-utilised Bourdieusian construct of “space” and notion of “multiplicity”, we developed the concepts of “twisted space” and “exclusive multiplicity” from and for our data analysis, leading to three themes: (1) negotiating the intertwined benefits and consequences of life overseas – resembling a Möbius Ribbon – in a “twisted” space; (2) navigating the paradox of multiplicity and exclusivity within the social spaces of study, work, and family; and (3) being blessed and burdened by the “weight of love” from family. Multiplicity within twisted space is not merely a theoretical construct but a lived reality for international students. Our study advances understandings of the international students‘ lifeworlds, beyond habitus, capital, and field.

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