The Meaning of 'International'

For some time now I have wondered about what it means to be 'international.' Does the term refer to a person's accumulation of international frequent flyer miles or does it imply the integration of ideas from other countries into one's own way of thinking and definition of self? Perhaps it refers to sports fans who follow teams from other countries. Is the Kentucky college student who has never left the country but follows the British football club Liverpool any less international than a Liverpudlian who follows, say Real Madrid for FC Barcelona? No. We have a tendency in this country to automatically categorize someone who arrives in the US from another country as 'international' irrespective of their views on such areas as study abroad or the recruitment of international students. Believe it or not, but there are international nativists such as George Borja, the Cuban-born professor who rails against all incoming immigrants. Just because someone is from another country, say Ireland, does not mean he/she espouses an internationalist philosophy. There are some who are born in other countries who do not support study abroad, yet because of their  place of origin, they are given a free pass and assigned the 'internationalist' label.

A large part of the nebulous nature of 'international' comes from the unclear definition of what it is. Someone who crosses borders frequently I would call a 'transnational.'  To me, 'internationalism' is a philosophy just like Stoicism in that it is a principle that informs our system of beliefs. There are many ways to become internationalist; traveling to another country does not necessarily make one international. I know many people who have never left this country who are more international than some international educators. At a conference in Montreal, Canada a few years ago I noticed how many international educators did not make the effort to speak French while purchasing a coffee or a newspaper. How 'international' is that?

A child who follows the Japanese anime is international, even if he/she might not speak the language. A person who studies international affairs is international. Someone who enjoys Italian opera is international. It amuses me when people limit their definitions of 'being internationalist' to such mundane descriptors such as travel or language learning. I know someone who speaks five languages but has extreme views of immigration. He is not an internationalist.

The term 'internationalization'  is used so loosely today it is no wonder that it encounters such opposition from certain sectors of the community. No one really knows what it is. But we can make progress if we acknowledge the plurality of ways to become international, especially at the microcosmic level. We are more international than we think.