Open AccessCosmopolitanism: Rethinking the Agenda of Education Abroad
Author(s) -
Brian Whalen,
Michael Woolf
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
frontiers
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2380-8144
pISSN - 1085-4568
DOI - 10.36366/frontiers.v32i3.580
Subject(s) - cosmopolitanism , sociology , internationalization , curriculum , epistemology , citizenship , international education , meaning (existential) , relevance (law) , field (mathematics) , global citizenship , internationalization of higher education , pedagogy , higher education , political science , philosophy , law , mathematics , politics , pure mathematics , economics , microeconomics
Cosmopolitanism is an ambiguous and inherently paradoxical notion. Because of the complexities it raises, it generates analyses and discourses that challenge simplistic assumptions embedded in theory and practice of education abroad. Global citizenship, comprehensive internationalization, cultural relativity, immersion, cross-cultural learning, and community engagement are some of the concepts deconstructed through the lens of cosmopolitan ideas and histories. Cosmopolitan philosophies are also of particular and special relevance to student experience in international education. In short, cosmopolitanism is not one idea but a field of meaning, a cluster of profound propositions that might collectively enrich the curriculum of education abroad.