Abstract:
Study abroad is an increasingly important aspect of the American college experience and
many colleges and universities are interested in increasing its access along social class and racial lines.
This study analyzed study abroad with the following research questions: How does study abroad fit
into a context of class transition (or class solidification) of students at elite colleges? What kinds of
cultural capital are gained when studying abroad, and how is this different across social class and
racial lines? How does study abroad affect national identity and what are its implications for class-
transitioning college students? Participant observation: thick description of a year’s study abroad in
two programs in two separate countries as a first-generation college student. Semi-structured
interviews: twelve interviews with both first-generation and non-first-generation students at a small,
liberal arts college who studied in programs with different structures. Navigating class: Students
navigate study abroad with the same strategies they use in other upper class and predominantly
White spaces. Intercultural capital: Students gain intercultural literacies and other cultural capital
associated with tourism differently based on education history. National capital: Students’
experiences abroad nuance their national identities. This forms a kind of national capital in which
students are socialized into the particular national identities of the upper/middle class. First-
generation students navigate social class abroad and develop the intercultural capital associated with
exposure to other nationalities and the national capital associated with self-awareness of American
identity that prepare them to transition to the upper/middle classes. More importantly, where the
literature of study abroad focuses on quantitative data, this project offers qualitative and
ethnographic data describing not just ‘what’ happens while studying abroad, but ‘how.’
Keywords: international education, cultural capital, class mobility, national identity
