Dr. Annette Bamberger, Bar-Ilan University

This talk critically analyses the application and impact of postcolonial critique on the understanding of internationalization in higher education. It scrutinizes the rhetorical devices and moves that define this body of scholarship, highlighting its reliance on a 'modern global/colonial imaginary' rooted in an outdated, bipolar or unipolar view of geopolitics. Such a perspective overlooks the nuances of contemporary colonialism and fails to accommodate the nature of modern geopolitics, thereby ignoring the various manifestations and locations of colonialism. This analysis contends that the postcolonial approach, by prioritizing a West-centric and selectively critical lens, minimizes local agency and inadequately addresses the diverse motivations driving internationalization. This illumination not only exposes the latent biases and assumptions inherent in this framework but also opens opportunities for more balanced, critical and inclusive alternatives.

Annette Bamberger is a Senior Lecturer in the Faculty of Education at Bar-Ilan University and an Honorary Research Fellow at UCL Institute of Education.