Globalisation and deterritorialisation: An example of an academic discipline in the Malay Archipelago.

You are here

Research and Development in Higher Education Vol. 37: Higher Education in a Globalized World

July, 2014, 352 pages
Published by
A. Kwan, E. Wong, T. Kwong, P. Lau & A. Goody
ISBN
978-0-908557-96-7
Abstract 

Understanding the cultural effects of the globalisation of knowledge is of central concern in higher education research. This reading maps an analytical space for research on cultural negotiations in academic disciplines. It re-reads Appadurai’s theory of global imaginaries (1996) through Deleuze and Guattari’s notion of deterritorialisation (1983; 1994; 2005), and applies it to the study of clinical psychology education in the Malay Archipelago. Deleuze and Guattari’s deterritorialisation concept provides insights into the cultural subtleties of transnational education and the dynamics of change in academic disciplines. The case study illustrates that disciplines are themselves territories, changing from within, as well as with geographical movement. This analytic inquiry provides a preliminary mapping of clinical psychology territories in the Malay Archipelago through an anthropological approach, it concludes with directions for further research.

Keywords: Globalisation of knowledge, social imaginary, de/reterritorialisation