The journey as a transcultural experience for international students

Loynes, Christopher ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9779-7954 and Gurholt, Kirsti Pedersen (2017) The journey as a transcultural experience for international students. Journal of Geography in Higher Education, 41 (4). pp. 532-548.

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Abstract

An international two-year Erasmus Mundus MA, Transcultural European Outdoor Studies (TEOS), uses the journey as a central metaphorical concept, the ‘peregrinatio academica’, and experiential pedagogy. Students study human nature interactions through the lens of outdoor education and recreation while travelling for a semester at a time in three European countries: England, Norway and Germany. We argue that the transcultural concept is facilitated by the diverse nationalities of the student cohort and the concept and experience of the journey. Empirical evidence from student feedback, course discussions, and staff reflections is used to explore the ways in which the programme elucidates ideas of expert and Eurocentric knowledge of landscape and learning by valuing individual knowledge constructions and new research. Simultaneously, we argue that the typical European ‘gaze’ on the ‘other’ somehow is reversed as ‘others’ gaze at European cultures, and, to some degree, contribute to destabilising culturally taken-for-granted knowledge. This offers new opportunities for a more nuanced transcultural exploration of human nature interactions in diverse landscapes and cultures. We conclude that the knowledge and skills developed by this programme supports the development of’ ‘transculturalised’ students with the enhanced capacity to shift between and discuss diverse positions and ways of viewing and knowing.

Item Type:	Article
Journal / Publication Title:	Journal of Geography in Higher Education
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis (Routledge)
ISSN:	1466-1845
Departments:	Institute of Science and Environment > Outdoor Studies Centre for National Parks and Protected Areas (CNPPA)
Additional Information:	Proceedings paper from the annual conference of the Royal Geographical Society (held in Exeter, UK, 2-4 September 2015).
Depositing User:	Christopher Loynes
Date Deposited:	30 May 2017 15:08
Last Modified:	04 Dec 2024 10:11
URI:	https://insight.cumbria.ac.uk/id/eprint/2972

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