Written for study abroad practitioners, this book approaches key study abroad concepts – such as “culture”, “native speaker”, and “immersion” – from a number of theoretical perspectives, and considers study abroad not as an encounter with cultural others, but as an occasion to analyze constructions of “differences” in daily life.

Acknowledgments Introduction      Sample Questions Chapter 1. The Global and the National: Does the Global Need the National, and If It Does, What’s Wrong with That?      Recommended Readings      Sample Questions Chapter 2. Culture: Is It a Homogeneous, Static Unit of Difference?      Recommended Readings      Sample Questions      Activity: Study Abroad Checklist Chapter 3. “Native Speakers”: Do They Really Exist, and Should Students Aim to Speak Like Them?      Recommended Readings      Sample Questions Chapter 4. Immersion: Is It Really about “Living Like a Local”?      Recommended Readings      Activity: Daorba Yduts      Sample Questions Chapter 5. Host Society and Host Family: Who Are They, and Who Shapes Their Lives?      Recommended Readings      Sample Questions Chapter 6. Border Crossing: Do We Instead Construct Borders through Learning and Volunteering?      Recommended Readings      Sample Questions Chapter 7. Self-Transformation: Do Assessing and Talking about Self-Transformation Involve Power Politics?      Recommended Readings      Sample Questions Conclusion and Departure: New Frameworks for Study Abroad References Index