Negotiating transnational education

An International seminar on “Lost in TransNation”

Bremen, 23^rd & 24^th 2008

Prof. Dr. Neeti Badwe, Dept. of Foreign Languages, University of Pune, Pune, India

 

Contents and Contexts : Negotiating transnational education

 

My observations I would like to present briefly in three parts. At the outset let us have a quick overview of the most obvious features of the era we are living through, followed by their impact on the development of transnational education. The presentation will be concluded by unfolding tools in a box.

 

A. Distinctive features of our era:

1. Lateral movement : In keeping with the spatial turn we have been witnessing since a couple of decades, the transnational and trans-cultural movement too is lateral. Reduction of the vertical axis of Time vis-à-vis expansion of the horizontal axis of space is perhaps the distinctive feature of the present era. Enormous distances are covered in no time, knowledge is transferred within a blink of an eye and wealth is transferred with a click on the keyboard.

 

2. Collaborations : Professional international networking is spatially widening the scope of trading and businesses. Concurrence is conquered by collaborations, by joining hands. Mergers and acquisitions of firms and businesses are making news every day. Thus, the economic growth is happening essentially horizontally. One does not speak / think in terms of achieving heights and peaks, but rather conquering and occupying space. The education industry is no exception.

 

3. New economy : The prime power vested in economy has turned the traditional understanding of notions and surroundings up side down. ‘Swadeshi’, which means the local and indigenous, one of the primary slogans coined by Mahatma Gandhi, seems to have lost its relevance. Importing goods was once considered hindrance in the growth of gross national product. Strong national currency was a matter of pride and a parameter to judge the economic growth, which is no more considered a valid scale. On the contrary – the rise in the value of Indian Rupee or Japanese Yen triggers concerns and some industrialists and economists find such a rise detrimental to the growth. Over populated poor country like India suddenly becomes the most attractive destination for investments, precisely due to these two factors, which were considered the biggest hurdle in development of the nation. Taking loan, especially for personal needs, was considered humiliating and catastrophic. Today one is encouraged to buy every commodity on loan. Borrow, spend and consume is the motto for the growth of economy.

 

4. Accessibility to information : All pervasive electronic media, communication technology, digital networking - in short, the virtual space has filled human lives and the information is incessantly pouring in. One is better informed about other peoples, nations and cultures.

 

5. Bridging the gap : One more important dimension of our era is that of the post-structural discourses. They have paved the path towards flattening of differences and bridging the gaps. Social hierarchies and political hegemony are being broken, the societies have become more accommodative, and centripetal forces are at work, social movements are emerging from the margins.  Multi-centered, multilingual, pluri-cultural societies are emerging and welcomed.

 

B. Transnational education

This has of course a great impact on the concept and the process of the transnational education and interaction where one gets easily involved and lost too!

 

As we know, the co-lateral movement of the new economy is multidimensional and has commodified even the education. This has given rise to transnational and trans-cultural collaborations and mobility. The student community is constantly in search of the appropriate destination, whereby cultures and nations involved are no more understood as polarized; and homogenous constructs based on notions like one language, culture, and folk have lost their relevance.

 

Commonalities :

As a consequence by and large the commonly confusing factors can be noticed :

·       Self-identity : Despite or precisely due to unlimited accessibility to information one is lost in transition from the virtual to ground reality and is bewildered. One is constantly entangled in a dynamic process of self-identification by negating what one is not; particularly so in relation to whom one is opposed to. In the context of an unknown culture and society, one starts redefining one-self, which causes uncertainty and loss of confidence.

·       Blurred boundaries : The boundaries of any field of study, especially of fields with national or cultural specificity, have become blurred. These are overlapping and hybrid forms, which on the one hand are enriching, on the other more confusing. E.g. what is the scope of ‘Literaturwissenschaft’, the field that is drawing extensively on other theories and discourses?

·       Process of negotiation : The contemporary discourses promote and propagate negotiation by deconstructing dichotomies and hierarchies, thus helping to flatten differences and bridging the gap. They consequently deny total negation, which leads to unclear divisions or sectors, giving rise to ‘spaces in between’. Even cultures and nations are not looked upon as fixed or static entities, but as processes and as ongoing negotiations. As a consequence, the present era has become more accommodative and tolerant, but also more confusing and stressful.

·       Stressful conditions : It’s not just the explosion of information, but far more access to knowledge, due to which one is exasperated. One is caught in the wheel and dragged along in the race of acquiring more and more knowledge. The contemporary condition doesn’t allow delimiting knowledge or access to knowledge.

- As one sees less of replacement and more of juxtaposing of the old and the new, this and that too, results into multiplicity of choices, that in turn brings about compulsions of perpetually making choices. And this is extremely stressful. A mundane example can explain this. Think of a confused foreign student while buying sugar or salt in a Super Market in Germany, wondering which type or brand to pick up.

·       Greed : One is not only exploiting the nature, but also one’s own capacity to the optimum by grabbing at every opportunity and trying to translate it to success.

- severe competition and compulsions create stressful situation and frustration.

 

C. Three counterstrategies

·       Selection : Any one in general, but an international student in particular should become a ‘Nein-Sager’ (saying no) to effectively counteract. Not actually in the Brechtian sense, as a non-conformist showing courage to oppose the system, but to be selective in accepting the challenges, chances, offers, information and knowledge. Acquiring knowledge is not enough, its selective absorption and implementation holds the key to success.

·       Acceptance : The postmodern inquiry into the issues of perception and representation reveal that knowing the other is not enough, acknowledging and recognizing ‘the Otherness of the other’ is essential. Such recognition by the peers and professors can boost the self-esteem of an international student in the process of reconstructing his own self-identity at a foreign university.

·       Linguistic competence : The status of the language is very significant in this shrinking world with endless opportunities and intangible commodified images. Many fear that the linguistic differences are vanishing and cultural identities are lost with invasion of jeans, McDonalds, coca colas, PCs, cell phones and Englishes. Just look around to know that only the virtual and commercial reality is encoded often in English, whereas the ground reality is expressed primarily in one’s own language. Therefore, the local or national language certainly creates affinity and linguistic competence certainly makes one feel more comfortable while negotiating the unknown environment.

English is neither the language of masses in Europe, nor in South America, nor in north-west Africa, or in China, Japan or Russia. English can nomore establish its linguistic hegemony to subordinate peoples as in the past. For the business relations one may find English useful. For establishing human relations however, use of the regional and national language is inevitable. Through the national language of any given country one can relate to its people quickly and more effectively.

 

D. Checklist for environment

·       Collaborations have focus on mutual gain

·       Psychological environment is encouraging for foreign students

·       Campus atmosphere is conducive for learning and innovating

·       Mentors and peers accept and recognize the Otherness of foreign students

·       Mentors and peers see and accept the difference

·       Mentors and peers have tolerance for ambiguity

·       Mentors and peers show flexibility and have open mind

·       Mentors and peers welcome diverse perspectives and ideas of outsider

·       And listen actively and patiently