Book Reviews / Comptes rendus 77 Trilokekar, Roopa Desai, Jones, Glen A., & Shubert, Adrian. (Eds.) (2009). Canada’s Universities Go Global. Toronto: Lorimer. $29.95 CAD (paperback). Reviewed by Melody Viczko, PhD Candidate, University of Alberta. This edited book fills a gap in what we know about reforms targeting the internationalization of Canadian higher education. Contributions from scholars across Canada (and a few from international contexts) delivered multi-focal approaches to the study of internationalization processes, involving both empirical and theoretical considerations for readers. The book offered everything from descriptive accounts of contemporary policies and practices to historical tracings of past policies and their influences on current initiatives, from position papers arguing for more national coordination to critical positions that question foundations to justify international reforms. The topics and paradigmatic approaches imparted in the chapters represent a collection of contributions from a conference held at York University in 2006. The editors argue that the topics lack attention in current literature but warrant significant consideration from scholars and practitioners alike. Given his expertise in internationalization of higher education, Simon Marginson is well positioned to deliver the first chapter, in which he contextualizes international trends by looking at the case of Australian universities. At first, this seems to be a precarious choice for the first chapter given that focus of the book is Canada. Yet it is shown to be fruitful by positioning the discussion of Canadian higher education in the broader context of globalized policies and practices. Detailing a web of facts and figures, Marginson drew attention to the purposeful effort of teaching-focused universities’ efforts towards increased international student recruitment. The Australian context provides a stark contrast to Canada, with some Australian public universities boasting 30% of student registrations as international. However, Marginson argued that in order for Australian institutions to compete in a global market, greater commitments to resources for research are required, for that is what counts in global comparisons. Similarly, Teichler from the University of Kassel, relayed descriptive and statistical information about the historical nature of internationalization of higher education in Germany. In conclusion, he problematized the notion of internationalization and globalization as drivers of governance reforms, contending it is no longer possible to make clear distinctions between global/European pressures for reform and specific national problems that are addressed through increased international activities in the complex web of German higher education. Three chapters were dedicated to providing historical, descriptive overviews of particular aspects of the Canadian context. Trilokekar highlighted the leadership role of the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade (DFAIT) in Canada’s efforts to respond to globalization through efforts, policies and supports aimed at internationalization. After a lengthy description of DFAIT’s history, Trilokekar questioned to what extent DFAIT should assume a leadership role in developing a national strategy to internationalize. In response, she argued there are better positioned actors, such as Human Resources and Skills Development Canada (HRSDC) or research councils, which are more able to influence Canada’s investment in higher education. Overall, Trilokekar candidly illustrated the diversity of interests, influences and controls associated with Canadian internationalization. From a provincial perspective, Savage described an Alberta/Manitoba comparison, primarily citing historical events in the provinces’ responses to internationalization pressures. While Picard and Mills also provided an historical overview in Quebec, the attention they dedicated to trends in linguistic legislation unraveled the complexity of the Quebec situation. Such descriptive work is needed for initial entry to the literature but also raised questions for me regarding political and cultural influences on provincial approaches internationalization. CJHE / RCES Volume 41, No. 1, 2011 Book Reviews / Comptes rendus 78 Shifting towards a teaching and learning focus, Steinmen called attention to difficulties facing second language writers and launched a critical challenge to teachers and instructors to consider the enormous task for students who strive to balance learned writing conventions from their first language and those that are favoured in dominant academic writing contexts in North America. Steinman suggested two frameworks that support contrastive rhetoric – multilteracies and critical theory – and placed emphasis on change from faculty and instructors, as well as the academy as a larger ideological institution, to reconsider how they resist hegemonic writing codes to recognize and appreciate literary hybridity. Hanson and Johnson reported on a study that questioned, “Can we as educators in a university setting create internationalized curricula that catalyze personal and social transformation and fosters global citizenship? If so, how?” (p. 169). Their analysis drew upon intersections of transformative learning, global health, and internationalization processes at the University of Saskatchewan to indicate a role for the university “to foster citizen-activist modeling of opportunity for engagement, for critical reflection on and for soulful participation in the creation of a new discourse and a transformed global social order” (p. 193). The York International Internship Program (YIIP) featured in two chapters devoted to bringing voice to students’ perspectives. Taraban, Desai and Fynbo framed their research project in the notion of “students-as-fieldworkers” to analyze university students’ global learning experiences through international internships. Their findings indicated that this particular internship did provide opportunities for critical engagements with global issues, as evidenced by the students’ reflections on their personal involvement with global social issues and academic choices on their return to Canada. To build upon this topic, MacMillan narrated her own reflections of her participation in the program and, indeed, her writing confirmed the previous authors’ analysis. However, an intriguing point of critique emerged as MacMillan theorized that her personal interactions with other faculty and her relatives constituted significant support to reflect critically about her internship experience. In this way, she argued that her personal capital enhanced the experience and that the propensity of international internships alone to lead to a deeper understanding of the global dynamics of power and privilege is not certain. Indeed, in reading these chapters, it is clear that further study that builds upon this research is needed to deconstruct the ways in which international internships work to transform unjust global power balances, both in the lives of the student interns and those with whom they interact during their internship experiences. In what ways might local internships also achieve this goal? Odgers and Giroux provided an extensive review of the literature related to internationalization of the curricula and reported on a study that considered perspectives of faculty members involved in curriculum reform. However, the findings were predominantly descriptive and, therefore, the chapter did raise questions for me about how participant subjectivities (for example, gender or status as an international scholar) might also influence faculty members’ understanding of their instrumental roles in achieving university priorities to internationalize curriculum. From another perspective, Richardson, McBey and McKenna addressed the extent to which international faculty utilized their international experience in research and teaching. While the findings reported both positive and negative experiences by 44 participants from across the country, the authors posited that networks and international experiences that international faculty bring to Canadian universities contribute to internationalization of institutions, but the authors cautioned that more research is needed to examine what roles other faculty members might also play. The contributions by Jones and Beaudin both offered varying levels of support to the question of a nationally coordinated response to internationalization. Beaudin stressed the importance of governments in regulating and ensuring quality in higher education delivery at the institutional level. Jones, on the other hand, maintained that internationalization is in the national interest and exists as a major CJHE / RCES Volume 41, No. 1, 2011 Book Reviews / Comptes rendus 79 issue of domestic higher education policy that should be grounded in domestic policy goals that reflect a diverse, multi-cultural Canadian population. Unfortunately, what exactly this means for institutions and local policy knowledge is not well iterated in either chapter and is desperately needed if we consider internationalization efforts as neither neutral nor benign. Finally, I want to address three chapters that poignantly offered more radical alternatives to the study of internationalization. Barndt argued for a reconceptualization of internationalization to recognize the diversity of epistemologies, cosmovisions and practices that exist not only beyond Canada’s borders but also within the diasporic academic institutions across the Canadian higher education terrain. She drew upon examples at York University that illustrate how the drive for internationalization is used to support Aboriginizing and diasporizing the academy through a recognition of the diversity within institutions. The significance of her argument is embedded in locating a space for students originating inside Canadian borders and whose life experiences and knowledges can, in fact, contribute towards goals of diversity and global cultural understanding in higher education. Beck challenged dominant pragmatic assumptions about internationalization, drawing mainly upon literature from globalization and post-colonial theories to offer the notion of internationalization as eduscape, following Appadurai. The connection between the literature is indeed pertinent, as Beck related, “if globalization creates the market for Western education, colonial dependency creates the desire” (p. 317). Drawing on data from a study that considered the lived experiences of international students at Good University (pseudonym), Beck challenged the readers to re-consider their acceptance of dominant narratives that steep internationalization processes in academic rationale, suggesting a consideration for the perspectives of students who pursue international study, since it is “international students themselves who were becoming internationally knowledgeable and interculturally competent” (p. 334). Dwyer and Reed launched a severe, yet poetic, critique of internationalization that drew upon critical theory to problematize the legitimacy of the university that prioritizes proclaiming diversity, funding global initiatives, and submitting itself to a corporate understanding of globalization. Rather, they suggested a Habermasian communicative rationality to revitalize the goal, role and functions of the university in order to construct discursive choices that go beyond the narrow vision of current administrative and scholarly practices to build a more authentic international community. Overall, this edited book is a welcome contribution that fills a glaring gap in the higher education literature. However, a few areas of critique linger. First, considering the age and historical positioning of universities in Canada’s Atlantic region, it would be interesting to read about their engagements (both historically and currently) with internationalization processes. Second, the permeation of Jane Knight’s contributions to the body of literature on internationalization throughout the book is indicative of the western hegemony on how we think and talk about internationalization processes in this country. More research is needed to consider the perspectives of Aboriginal scholars in the Canadian context. Furthermore, given the significant presence of international students from specifically targeted areas of the globe, such as Asian and African populations, the contribution of scholars from these regions to the field of internationalization of higher education can only broaden how we understand the interconnectivity between internationalization and globalization. Third, the absence of a feminist critique suggests a new avenue to explore issues of power and patriarchy as student demographics shift with processes to internationalize campuses across the country. Questions of who is privileged in this shift warrants our attention. Finally, methodological approaches that examine the ways in which all levels of actors, from global to local, engage in processes of internationalization related to Canadian higher education would open the discussion beyond considerations of one dominant player. In conclusion, I offer that this book as a very timely and relevant contribution to the study of the internationalization of policies and practices in higher education. CJHE / RCES Volume 41, No. 1, 2011