Abstract
Since the late 1980s, in one way or another, most of my professional life has been spent as an expatriate working overseas. I have now experienced international postings in locations as geographically diverse as Austria, Japan, Turkey, the United States of America, Australia, and for the past six years, the People’s Republic of China.
In this chapter, I reflect on what I believe these different overseas experiences now suggest as my personal answer to the broader questions posed by this book around the risks and rewards of moving abroad. Along the way, I will also comment on four specific issues: the notion of culture shock, the role of cross-cultural training, the expansion of international academic mobility, and finally, what might be done to help prepare academics more effectively if they choose to work overseas.
In this chapter, I reflect on what I believe these different overseas experiences now suggest as my personal answer to the broader questions posed by this book around the risks and rewards of moving abroad. Along the way, I will also comment on four specific issues: the notion of culture shock, the role of cross-cultural training, the expansion of international academic mobility, and finally, what might be done to help prepare academics more effectively if they choose to work overseas.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Title of host publication | Moving Abroad. Risks and Rewards Searching for an Academic Life Far Away |
| Editors | Kerstin Tomiak, Ruairidh Brown |
| Place of Publication | Singapore |
| Publisher | Palgrave-Macmillan |
| Chapter | 2 |
| Pages | 13-26 |
| Number of pages | 14 |
| Edition | 1 |
| ISBN (Electronic) | 9789819727650 |
| ISBN (Print) | 9789819727643 |
| Publication status | Published - 21 Jul 2024 |