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

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.