What we talk about when we talk about internationalization

Abstract

Internationalization is a contemporary buzzword in higher education. The values and benefits anticipated through internationalism in international academic exchange and student mobility is widely recognized and represented on regional, national, institutional and individual levels. Internationalization as a key signifier serves multiple meanings and functions: as symbol, criteria of quality, and as carrier of content, often reaching far beyond the field of higher education. Internationalization is taken for granted as a quality but what kind of quality does internationalization represent? The purpose of this chapter is to unpack the notion of internationalization through an analysis of interviews with administrators and coordinators working in the service of intercultural outreach in higher education in the Barents Euro-Arctic region. The analysis will move beyond simple assumptions about reality and transparency derived through interviews and will problematize the epistemic and ontological conditions of “what we talk about when we talk about” something. It will be explored how internationalization becomes a concept with multiple functions and meanings, serving needs and expectations at various institutional levels. The international coordinator in academic exchanges programs is precisely the person who professionally negotiate this multidimensional concept and it’s derivate to individual students, to institutions and its political constituency. Meaning and internationalization intersect at many semantic and practical levels. Internationalization is an instrument/metaphor (a means) for accomplishing something else. It is also a concept with multiple interpretations (meanings) and it is decisively important (meaningful) for the “missionaries” of internationalism of higher education institutions. The general purpose of the paper is to contribute with critical interpretations of a key concept in contemporary higher education discourse.