Reinventing Education – II InternationalConference of the Journal Scuola Democratica, Panel Youth (Not) on the Move.
International Students’ Narrative Imaginaries: Italy, Finland and the Cosmopolitan Elsewhere
Pierluca Birindelli
Abstract: Due to the Coronavirus pandemic, 2020-2021 will probably represent a watershed time in youth educational mobility. Although the individual, collective and institutional meanings of studying abroad seem obvious, in the post-pandemic era the academic mobility axiom needs to be questioned. Through analysis of 50 autoethnographies I interpret international master students’ imaginaries of Italy-Florence, Finland-Helsinki and what can be called "the cosmopolitan elsewhere". The imaginary of Finland-Helsinki is thin, that of Italy-Florence is richer and more varied: media images and narratives shape students’ expectations before their arrival in the host country. The Finland-Helsinki country profile is associated with a vague idea of North Europe, often confused with Scandinavia. The respective autoethnographic passages can be synthetically interpreted as past (Italy) vs. present (Finland). While Italy-Florence’s image is almost embedded in a cultural past, Finland-Helsinki’s image is almost severed from its history and is seen rather as a geographical entity: the deep and mysterious north. Italy represents a culture of the past and is seen more as a holiday destination while Finland is recognized as a culture of the present and a sort of progressive and industrious land for the future. Further, analysis of secondary scholarly and non-scholarly sources connected with studying abroad reveals the absence of a clear-cut narrative of what it means to be an international student, although there is a glimpse of a vague cosmopolitan narrative. This story, constructed on a global scale by different actors and institutions, upholds the generic validity of studying abroad for both instrumental and expressive reasons.
