Student Mobility and Narrative in Europe: The new strangers

Student Mobility and Narrative in Europe The new strangers
Copyright
Contents
List of tables
Acknowledgements
Introduction
1 The stranger’s template
	Introduction: the conceptual lineage of the sociology of the stranger
	The spatial position of the stranger
	Discontinuities in time
	The social eccentricity of strangers
	Symbolic ambivalence: the ‘qualities’ of the stranger
	Fragmented identities
	Redefining the modern stranger
	Conclusion: the characteristics of the stranger
2 Narratives of student travellers
	Introduction: a diversity of narratives
	The European student traveller, a new stranger
	The student stay abroad, tradition and innovation in Europe
	Methodological choices
	Three case studies
	The profile of the students
	Conclusion: a narrative polyphony
3 Mobility capital: a taste for living abroad
	Introduction: a migratory elite
	Family history and mobility
	Travellers and others…: the travel bug
	Previous experience of mobility
	Learning mobility, a cautious progress
	The first experience of adaptation as an initiation
	Personality features of the potential wanderer
	The mobility capital
	Conclusion: the potential wanderer – ‘a flavour for living abroad’ (John)
4 An adventure into another time–space
	Introduction: an invitation to travel
	Living abroad as an imperative
	Motivations: residence abroad as an added value
	The exultation of language: ‘speaking foreignness’
	Bilingual or trilingual students: the deepening process
	Attraction to difference: ‘living foreignness’
	International openness: at ease in diversity
	‘A kind of emptiness’ (Sophie): life abroad as self-discovery
	An adventure into another time–space
	Conclusion: continuity and discontinuity
5 The arrival: a rite of passage
	Introduction: admission into a new cultural world
	The stranger as an intruder
	Arrival as a rite of passage
	Host environments and approaching strangers: perceived openness
	The choice of host country: selective affinities
	Arriving in a foreign country and feeling lost
	Communication strain or ‘culture fatigue’
	Solitude, alienation, anomie
	Conclusion: jumping from the stalls to the stage
6 Redefining culture shock in a European context
	Introduction: the personal crisis questioned
	The narratives on culture shock
	Conflict, crisis, shock, surprise or discovery?
	The U- and W-curve hypothesis revisited
	The year abroad: the different stages
	Sojourners and home ties: the sanctuary of the past
	Re-entry shock
	Conclusion: redefining culture shock – ‘you bend, but you don’t break’ (Damien)
7 New spaces, new places
	Introduction: a strange environment
	New spatial conditions: the geographical territory
	Different social relations
	Staking out a familiar habitat: from dislocations to familiarity
	A personal space: the issue of accommodation
	Conclusion: a new appraisal of space – ‘the difficulty with living in one place’ (Hélène)
8 The new social setting
	Introduction: moving in and taking part
	New socio-professional settings and roles
	University life as an Erasmus student
	Schools in the life of language assistants
	The EAP dual experience
	Participation in the new social scene: shared activities
	‘Cultural’ activities
	Learning a foreign culture abroad
	Conclusion: from space to society
9 The creation of a new social fabric
	Introduction: social seduction
	Social contacts and degrees of strangeness
	The ethnic group
	The international group
	A special international group: the EAP social scene
	The ‘seduction’ of the natives
	‘The key to getting on with people’ (Marina): key people
	Conclusion: from new spaces to new faces – social relationships as home
10 Adaptation: chameleon or clam
	Introduction: adaptation, state and process
	Defining adaptation
	Feeling ‘comfortable’ or ‘at home’: acquiring ‘a history’ over time
	The adaptation process: four facilitating factors
	Personal qualities of good adaptors: openness, tolerance and flexibility
	Assessing adaptation: three contrasting narratives
	The students’ rating of their final position
	Conclusion: ‘a life lesson’ (Hélène)
Conclusion
Annexes
	Annexe 1. The experience of strangers crossing borders: general properties
	Annexe 2. Study abroad questio6nnaire
	Annexe 3. The interview schedule
	Annexe 4. Interviewee profiles
	Annexe 5. Nationality of interviewees
	Annexe 6. Students with mixed families
	Annexe 7. Previous experiences abroad
	Annexe 8. Motivations of some Erasmus students
	Annexe 9. Motivations of some EAP students
	Annexe 10. Forms of accommodation selected by the students
Notes
Bibliography
Index