International Students: Constructions of Imperialism in the Chronicle of Higher Education

Abstract

This article links colonial/neocolonial and feminist literature with discourses on international students to examine how a discourse of imperialism constructs and represents international students in U.S. universities. Applying a critical discourse analysis to 78 articles published in the Chronicle of Higher Education between 1996 and 1999, the authors identified three themes of U.S. imperialism: international students as capital, international students as subjugated Others, and imperialism as self-identity. They discuss implications of portrayals of international students through an imperialist lens.