Document Type
Article
Publication Date
9-2018
Abstract
The genre of the study-abroad blog prompts students who are studying abroad to identify with marginalized populations they encounter during the travel experience, a practice that is particularly exigent amid the increasing commercialization of the studyabroad industry. To understand the conventions and ethical implications of the genre, the author examines an advice column on blogging abroad and students' reflections on their own writing from a recent studyabroad course. The blog conventions show that students are encouraged to use the misfortune of others to affirm their own privilege, while the interviews suggest that students need more support in responding to the complex cultural conditions of study abroad. To challenge the conventions of the studyabroad blog and ultimately the ideologies that contribute to the genre, faculty members leading students abroad should undertake pedagogical practices that encourage “empathic unsettlement. Copyright © 2018 by the National Council of Teachers of English. All rights reserved.
Recommended Citation
Gindlesparger, Kathryn, "“Share Your Awesome Time with Others”: Interrogating Privilege and Identification in the Study-Abroad Blog" (2018). College of Humanities and Sciences Faculty Papers. Paper 4.
https://jdc.jefferson.edu/jchsfp/4
Language
English
Comments
This article has been peer reviewed. It is the author’s final published version in College English, Volume 81, Issue 1, September 2018, Pages 7-26.
The published version is available here. Copyright © National Council of Teachers of English