ABSTRACT
The United States is the leading country in hosting internationally mobile higher education students, enrolling almost a fourth of the world’s total. Although international students offer countless benefits to US colleges and universities, they are often a misunderstood and negatively stereotyped population. There are common shortcomings in the current literature, placing the burden on international students to adapt, acculturate, and overcome any challenges that are set up by their hosts. To address these issues, this chapter suggests to practitioners and researchers the use of three frameworks with the broader goal of transforming higher education institutions into “global villages”: soft power, neo-racism, and academic hospitality. The first one serves as a way of understanding the broader political context and histories of power imbalances on which our notions of international cooperation are based. Neo-racism involves acknowledging that internationalization could potentially reinforce a global hierarchy that favors the global North and is used to justify discrimination based on unchecked perceptions of national and cultural superiority. Lastly, academic hospitality suggests proactive engagement by creating the conditions on campus to sustain engagement, beyond mere tolerance or respect, between “locals” and “internationals.” The chapter ends with practical recommendations to engage international students at US higher education institutions.
