The transcultural academic: Cosmopolitanism and the imagined community of the global academy

Abstract

The forces of globalisation and internationalisation are currently transforming the demographic of Australian universities. A significant feature of this is geographic mobility for both academic staff and students. However, while much of the research focuses on the experiences of international students, very little has been published on the academic staff who relocate from other cultures and countries to work in Australian universities. This paper reflects on the preliminary findings of a study undertaken at The University of Adelaide in South Australia which investigated the experiences of English as an Additional Language (EAL) academics. It considers the concept of cosmopolitanism in the context of the imagined community of the contemporary internationalised academy.