Transnational Students: International Service Learning and Short-Term Study Abroad Mobilities

Abstract

This chapter is about short-term study abroad (SA), otherwise known as credit mobility, and international service learning (ISL), and focuses on flows of university students from North America to Global South countries. The chapter is organized into three sections. First, the ideas about place that shape students desires to study and serve abroad are discussed with reference to sociological and geographical research. Next, the chapter analyzes the relational dimension of ISL and short-term study abroad, reviewing existing research on the impact of these programs on host communities. In the final section, drawing upon the author’s ISL research, the chapter turns to the work of Levinas who suggests that subjectivity in ISL relationships is bound up with ethical responsibility developed through ethical engagement with the Other.