Global Citizenship and Study Abroad: A Comparative Study of American and Australian Undergraduates

In this essay, the author examines how two groups of undergraduates, from Australia and the United States, negotiate their national and global identities in the context of studying abroad. In doing so the author demonstrates the nuances of "global citizenship" as it is actually experienced. Drawing on Craig Calhoun's (2002) scholarship on national identity and Martha Nussbaum's (2002) philosophical framework of global citizenship, the author argues for a more complex understanding of the dynamics of nation and globe and for a paradigm of "global citizenship" grounded in critical self-awareness, mutual respect, and reciprocity. This is not to suggest, however, that the author is advocating one simple model or paradigm of "global citizenship" which can be universally applied. Instead, the author proposes that global citizenship is inflected differently in diverse national contexts, as the contrasting experiences of the Americans and Australians abroad demonstrate. (Contains 1 note.)