Academic freedom at the nexus of internationalization: Enforced or intended?

Internationalization is not only a dominant policy discourse in higher education today, but also a complex assemblage of values. These values are linked to economic growth and prosperity, global citizenship, transnational identity capital, social cohesion, intercultural competencies and soft power. The main focus in this talk is the impact of uneven opportunity structures on displaced academics. In existing literature, though limited, the category of a displaced academic corresponds to the condition of exile and resettlement, due to war, conflict, natural disaster or political instability (McLaughlin et al 2020; Salehyan 2019). Thus, internationalization is a policy intervention by governments, but how these interventions are interpreted and practiced by HEIs is also an important signifier worth a debate. This talk, further, aims to discuss the nexus of forced/intended internationalization and mobility schemes within the framework of comparative national cases in Germany, France, Switzerland, the Netherlands and the UK. These cases provide insight for challenges regarding neoliberal measures, academic freedoms, life-work issues including the precarity of displaced academics in current European higher education landscape. Mapping these issues and challenges with their intersectional threads may, further, develop perspectives for breaking through the neoliberal surge in European academia.

About the lecture series

In view of the current political situation, especially the war in Ukraine and the protest movement in Iran, the lecture series “Research at Risk!” is an invitation to discuss the challenges of research in media, theater and cultural studies in crises and war regions beyond national and cultural boundaries. We have invited experts from various disciplinary and geo-political situations/positions to present their research on topics related to the wars and crises in our world and how this affects their research.

The lectures focus on research practices in war and crises as well as on scientific/activist work on war and crises. Specifically, our speakers address the questions of how research, education and study can be carried out under hostile conditions and what influence war, political oppression, diaspora and other crisis-related impacts have on the production of knowledge. Which forms of knowledge and cultures receive credit in the academic world, and which are excluded? Where do scientists and students place the significance of the media when faced with these circumstances?

The event is a continuation of an initiative from within German Media Studies to support scholars at risk affected by the ongoing Russian invasion on Ukraine. We want to use the attention currently being raised by the war in Ukraine to give stage to researchers from various zones of war and risk across Europe and worldwide, including Iran, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Ukraine, Turkey, Kamerun, and Afghanistan.

The lecture series „Research at Risk“ is a cooperation project of German media scholars and supported by: the CRC 1187 “Media of Cooperation”, the CRC 1472 “Transformationen des Populären“ and the Media Studies department at the University of Siegen, the Graduiertenkolleg 2132 “Das Dokumentarische” and the Faculty for Philology at Ruhr University Bochum, and the European Media Studies at the University Flensburg.

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