Race, Nativity, and Identity: Engaging an Equity-Driven Approach to International Research
- CHAIR: Solomon Zewolde, University of East London and University College London (UCL)
- Chrystal George Mwangi, George Mason University
- Christina Yao, University of South Carolina
Event Materials
This event is now archived and we are pleased to provide the following event media and assets, along with the original event overview.
The years 2020/2021 have been contentious, especially when considering the many issues related to race, politics, and international mobility. When the pandemic started, much of the discourse was about how this was a new and novel experience that we were all collectively experiencing. To a certain extent, the pandemic was novel, yet we argue that issues highlighted during the pandemic were already existing within the United States (U.S.) and more broadly in the global community. Many issues were reignited and revisited, especially when considering societal, national, and global issues. For example, anti-Blackness is a global problem that is pervasive and woven into the foundations of many of national contexts. Over the past few years, we have re-learned and were reminded of how race serves as a master status in the U.S. and other national contexts. In addition, the increased visibility of anti-Asian sentiment is reminiscent of the Yellow Peril and forever foreigner tropes that are rooted in U.S. socio-historical foundations. As evidence by current events, the U.S. has always been a site of internationalization, globalization, colonization, and domination of people, land, and ideas. We argue that current efforts in international research cannot be divorced from social and historical events and ideologies that continue to inform contemporary approaches to international research and practices. In this session, we will contextualize the role of U.S. history and racial legacy, discuss how international scholars in the U.S. are positioned within the current U.S. context, and explore how an emergent equity-driven internationalization lens may lead to foregrounding (in)equities in current approaches to international research.
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This is the sixth webinar in CGHE’s special series, Racism and Coloniality in Global Higher Education. You can find out more about the full series here.
This CGHE webinar series explores what global racial equity would mean for the future of higher education, and addresses the challenges of decolonising research systems and pedagogic cultures. The aim is to promote knowledge of, and commitment to, anti-racism within universities, and amongst researchers and policymakers. Contributors will reflect on colonial institutional legacies, racialised institutional cultures, and the power of ‘whiteness’, drawing on empirical research in a range of higher education contexts. Questions to address include:
- Why are the legacies of colonialism often overlooked, or erased, in favour of a ‘colour blind’ analysis of global higher education’s hierarchies and inequalities?
- Is the institutional racism of today’s universities a historical legacy or a resurgent cultural dynamic, intersected by the geopolitics of internationalisation.
- What can we learn about the structural inequalities of the global knowledge system from critical geographers and scholars in Science and Technology Studies?
- What forms of profound and transformational change would be needed to create racial equity in global higher education and research?
- How are universities, faculties and students, addressing these colonial legacies? Can owning ‘whiteness’ and acknowledging white privilege – along with the JEDI agenda (justice, equality, diversity and inclusion) – help move these debates forward?
CGHE webinars are fully open to participants. They are interactive, enabling attendees to speak directly in the webinar, ask questions of speakers when called in by the chair and see all other participants. At any time you can communicate directly with others, either all together or on a one-to-one basis, through the webinar Chat.
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Dr Solomon Zewolde is a part-time Lecturer both at the University of East London and at University College London (UCL). He holds a PhD in Race and Higher Education from the Institute of Education, UCL. Prior to that, Solomon has been an educator, a researcher, and an academic administrator in both public and private universities in Ethiopia. His current research interests include critical internationalization studies, the international student experience, the attainment gap in higher education, and the exploration of how ‘race’, ethnicity, habitus, and cultural capital interact to shape both experiences and outcomes for black students’ in higher education.
Dr. Chrystal George Mwangi is an Associate Professor of Higher Education at George Mason University. Her scholarship centers on 1) structures of opportunity and barriers impacting how students access and navigate college 2) higher education internationalization and (in)equity and 3) African and African Diaspora populations in higher education. She was a recipient of NAFSA’s Innovative Research in International Education award and is an Associate Editor for the Journal for Diversity in Higher Education.
Dr. Christina Yao is an Associate Professor of Higher Education and Program Coordinator for the Higher Education and Student Affairs Master’s program at the University of South Carolina. She is a qualitative researcher who primarily studies student engagement and learning in higher education. She operationalizes her research focus through three connected topical areas, including: international student mobility, scholar-practitioner preparation, and transnational education.
