The open seminar will be held as follows:

■Date
13:30-15:30, Thursday, August 8th, 2019

■Theme
Towards an actor-centred typology of internationalization: A study of junior international faculty in Japanese universities

■Venue
Room No. 112, RIHE, Hiroshima University

■Lecturers
Thomas Brotherhood, University of Oxford

■Abstract
In this seminar I offer new qualitative insights into internationalization processes in Japanese higher education. Drawing on ideas from migration studies and informed by interviews with junior international faculty members (JIFs) in Japanese universities, I posit a novel, actor-centered typology of internationalization that delineates between the integration, assimilation, and marginalization of mobile actors. Twenty-three interviews were conducted with JIFs from a variety of disciplines and institutions across Japan. Findings indicated a pattern of disillusionment with their role in internationalization, as many perceived themselves to be tokenized symbols of internationalization rather than valued actors within it. Participants identified various barriers which prevented them from participating in the academic “mainstream” and confined them to peripheral roles. I argue that their experiences are indicative of assimilative and marginalizing forms of internationalization. A relative lack of integrative forms may represent a barrier to reform in Japanese universities despite decades of state-sponsored internationalization.

■Language
English

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