Black *and Foreign* in the Ivory: Exploring the sociopolitical integration of Black international students in Alberta, Canada

• Author / Creator

  Ifeonu, Prof-Collins

• Over the last three decades, the number of students pursuing higher education outside of their
  country of citizenship (international students) has increased five-fold (The Organization for
  Economic Co-operation and Development, 2022). In that same period Canada has become a
  popular attraction of international students, such that it is houses to the third largest concentration
  of this group globally. International student tuition and discretionary spending serve as an
  important source of revenue for higher education institutions. Furthermore, federal, and provincial
  governments identify international students as a valued source of skilled immigrants. In a bid to
  ensure a steady influx of students, Canada has recently turned to countries in sub-Saharan Africa
  and the Caribbean – all regions where the population mostly identify as “Black” – as new source
  regions to target for intensified recruitment. Minimal research explores the integration experiences
  and daily lives of these students. Instead, studies employ monolithic categorizations, neglecting to
  analyze variations in racial/ethnic identification.
  To that end, the main research questions in this study are: (1) How do Black international
  students in Canada negotiate a sense of belonging amidst various forms of social inequality? and
  (2) In what ways are Black international students’ political proclivities shaping, or shaped by
  Canada’s political climate? I drew on an assorted mix of theoretical and methodological
  perspectives to answer these questions. The discussions in this study are based on semi-structured
  interviews with 40 research participants, all international students from sub-Saharan Africa and
  the Caribbean studying at a higher education institution across Alberta, Canada. In theorizing the
  study’s findings, I drew on an eclectic, interdisciplinary collection on scholarship such as
  international student mobility, Black politics, queer migration studies, and migration studies. What
  emerges from this approach is a detailed understanding of Black international students that
  accounts for the sociocultural reasons shaping their decision to study in Canada, relationship to
  Black-themed racial justice organizing/foregrounding, and navigation of queer identity making
  while managing the precarity of temporary legal status. Consequently, the project’s findings
  highlight the need to think of the respective populations “Black students” and “international
  students” as a heterogenous groups consisting of diverse viewpoints, experiences, and challenges.
  There are three substantive chapters where the findings of this study are discussed. Chapter
  three discusses how Black international students’ perceptions of Canadian multiculturalism
  operate as an ideological attraction that initially assuages concerns about racial hostility. Such
  preconceptions, however, are complicated by experiences and knowledge acquired post-migration,
  such as encounters with interpersonal racism and learning about Canada’s colonial legacy. Chapter
  four explores the factors shaping Black international students’ understanding of and relationship
  to Black-themed racial justice activism in Canada. This article uncovers three distinct groups of
  participants with varying degrees of political activity and highlights the role of diasporic and legal
  consciousness in shaping their engagement with movements. Chapter 5 delves into the multifocal
  experiences of precarity encountered by a queer Nigerian student, involving complex negotiations
  of sexual, racial identity, and temporary legal status. Collectively, these articles advance a
  heterogeneous understanding of international students, acknowledging the diversity of social
  locations and experiences within this group. The articles also serve to depict the sociopolitical
  integration of Black international students. In sum, this dissertation contributes to broader
  conversations about race, racism, racial justice, and intersecting identities as they pertain to
  international student experiences and underscores the need for more nuanced approaches and
  supportive environments in Canadian universities. Popular approaches to studying international
  students are rarely attuned to intra-group variation based on race and ethnicity, and this study is
  among the first to foreground such analyses in Canadian research on international students.

• Subjects / Keywords

  • International students
  • Internationalization
  • race
  • Blackness
  • Black politics
  • identity
  • social movements
  • social justice

• Graduation date

  Spring 2024

• Type of Item

  Thesis

• Degree

  Doctor of Philosophy

• DOI

  https://doi.org/10.7939/r3-m720-k025

• License

  This thesis is made available by the University of Alberta Libraries with permission of the copyright owner solely for non-commercial purposes. This thesis, or any portion thereof, may not otherwise be copied or reproduced without the written consent of the copyright owner, except to the extent permitted by Canadian copyright law.