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Looks good on your CV': The sociology of voluntourism recruitment in higher education
McGloin, Colleen Georgeou, Nichole
McGloin, Colleen
Georgeou, Nichole
Abstract
The recruitment for what has become known as ‘voluntourism’ takes place on campuses at many universities in Australia. Under the banner of ‘making a difference’ students are solicited to travel to developing countries to aid poor communities, to enjoy the sights and tastes of the distant and exotic ‘other’, the ‘experience’ touted as a useful addition to the curriculum vitae (CV). This article addresses the discursive terrain of voluntourism by providing an analysis of the ways in which students are invited to participate in such cultural practices while recruiters give little or no information about the lived realities of people in poor nations. We argue that voluntourism reinforces the dominant paradigm that the poor of developing countries require the help of affluent westerners to induce development. We contend that the recruitment of students by voluntourism organisations is an example of public pedagogy that reinforces a hegemonic discourse of need.
Keywords
critical pedagogy, development discourse, neoliberalism, voluntourism
Date
2016
Type
Journal article
Journal
Journal of Sociology
Book
Volume
52
Issue
2
Page Range
403-417
Article Number
ACU Department
Collections
Relation URI
Source URL
Event URL
Open Access Status
License
File Access
Controlled