International Students in the UK and EU: Fluid Contexts and Identities in a Changing Europe

In: Montgomery , C & Nada , C 2018 , International Students in the UK and EU: Fluid Contexts and Identities in a Changing Europe . in C A Rose-Redwood & R Rose-Redwood (eds) , International Encounters: Higher Education and the International Student Experience . Rowman & Littlefield .

Abstract

This chapter focuses on the construction of the "international student" in the contemporary social, cultural, and political context of the UK and Europe more generally. The chapter examines the literature on international student experiences over the last decade, critiquing the notion of UK national identity in relation to international students and setting this against the social, cultural, and political changes that have influenced international students' sense of themselves. Having unmasked the fragility of conceiving of international students according to national identity alone, the chapter goes on to consider international students in the European context with a specific focus on narratives of international students attending universities in Portugal, collected by the second author of this chapter. The results suggest that scholarship on international students must take into account the fluidity of national identities. The chapter concludes with a discussion of international students' identities and how they are influenced by social, cultural, and political contexts.