International service learning (ISL) programs are growing more popular with students looking to advance their skills and knowledge to become global citizens. While the benefits of these programs among students are well documented, little is known about the implications they have on host communities themselves. This volume explores the impact of ISL programs on members of host communities (e.g. host families and local partner NGOs) who are increasingly influenced by the presence of international students in their lives. Drawing upon post-colonial, feminist and other critical and decolonizing theories, it examines the complicated power relations between North American ISL students and host communities in East and West Africa, the Caribbean and Central America. It stresses the importance of developing trusting relations between ISL students, faculty and individuals in the host communities to create mutually engaging learning experiences.

The book investigates the European debate on culture and identity by pointing to those uses of language that shape the image and perception of migrants in host societies. The term 'foreigner' is highly sensitive to changes experienced by communities. Its meanings transcend its traditional semantic scope and lead to the discussion of notions such as nation, nationality, immigration, integration, citizenship, nationalism and multiculturalism. The words 'foreigner', 'Auslander', 'extranjero' and the network of related terms are discussed from a multidisciplinary approach with the aim of identifying the core features of the concept of 'foreignness' in German, Spanish and English. Dieses Buch untersucht die europaische Diskussion uber Kultur und Identitat. Im Zentrum steht dabei derjenige Sprachgebrauch, der das Bild und die Wahrnehmung hinsichtlich der Migranten in den Gastgeberlandern pragt. Bei gesellschaftlichen Veranderungen wandelt sich auch der Gehalt des Begriffs "Auslander". Seine Bedeutung geht uber den traditionellen semantischen Rahmen hinaus und fuhrt zur Diskussion uber Konzepte wie Nation, Nationalitat, Migration, Integration, Burgerschaft, Nationalismus und Multikulturalitat. Die Woerter 'foreigner', 'Auslander', 'extranjero' und deren semantisches Umfeld werden fachubergreifend behandelt, um die Grundmerkmale des Begriffs 'Fremdartigkeit' auf Deutsch, Englisch und Spanisch zu identifizieren.

International service learning (ISL) programs are growing more popular with students looking to advance their skills and knowledge to become global citizens. While the benefits of these programs among students are well documented, little is known about the implications they have on host communities themselves. This volume explores the impact of ISL programs on members of host communities (e.g. host families and local partner NGOs) who are increasingly influenced by the presence of international students in their lives. Drawing upon post-colonial, feminist and other critical and decolonizing theories, it examines the complicated power relations between North American ISL students and host communities in East and West Africa, the Caribbean and Central America. It stresses the importance of developing trusting relations between ISL students, faculty and individuals in the host communities to create mutually engaging learning experiences.