Who is an (im)mobile academic? Thinking within and beyond the nation-state in times of geopolitical turmoil
- Lautaro Vilches
Academic mobility has been long regarded as the epitome of excellence. Yet not only the rise of far-right governments threatening migrant population and academic freedom, but also the idealisation of mobility rooted in the human capital approach, and narrow definitions of migration based solely on border crossing or nationality, underscore the urgent need for novel conceptualisations of mobility – beyond and within the nation state.
In this webinar, I discuss two aspects. First, at a conceptual level, I present the ‘Critical Mobilities Heuristic’ and discuss its four lenses, focusing on: (1) broader definitional and normative aspects; (2) the construction of the academic subject and the enactments of (im)mobility; (3) the temporal and processual nature of (im)mobility; and (4) the importance of a methodological stance that is sensitive to participants perspectives and context. Second, I explain the application of the heuristic and how I constructed the figure of the (im)mobile academic in a research project exploring the dissimilar experiences of academics in enacting local and international research collaboration at Centres of Excellence in the Social Sciences and Humanities (see 10.1111/hequ.70027).
I conclude the presentation by reflecting on the broader implications of rethinking migration, beyond the exclusionary categories of ‘us’ and ‘them’, in the pursuit of a more inclusive society and the protection of democracy.
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Lautaro Vilches is a sociologist who completed his PhD at Humboldt University of Berlin and holds a Master’s degree in Higher and Professional Education from the UCL Institute of Education. Driven by the belief that Higher Education Studies are inherently multidisciplinary, his doctoral project explored the experiences of academics and professional staff working at Centres of Excellence in the Social Sciences and Humanities in Germany. It examined organisational transformations, the interplay of collegiality and competition, and the relation between academic (im)mobility and research collaborations. His current research focuses on academics serving as members of International Advisory Boards at Centres of Excellence in Germany, Scandinavian and Nordic countries. The project explores their motivations, functions, and evaluative perspectives, across geo-epistemic spaces, on the centres. Lautaro also works as consultant for higher education institutions.