Geographies of citizenship in higher education: An introduction

The information, practices and views in this article are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the Royal Geographical Society (with IBG). © 2018 Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers). This special section explores multiple ways of thinking about citizenship as informed by higher education students’ experiences. The papers collectively examine universities as a locus of citizenship production and consumption among students, but also highlight the role of young people in enacting alternative expressions of citizenship. All the papers locate experiences of higher education within their national contexts operating within broader geopolitical and geo-economic practices, even as they take into consideration “postnational” forms of citizenship construct as well as a growing range of educational institutions and actors occupying subnational terrains that mediate citizenship values, ideals and norms. Drawing on these insights, we point towards three promising avenues for further research in the geographies of citizenship in higher education, while maintaining that this an area of studies that requires a plurality of perspectives.