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FrancoAngeli Journals

Notes and discussions

No. 309 (2025): Italia Contemporanea - Open Access section

Student Mobility during Decolonization between Global and Social History: Recent Contributions from the Historiographical Debate

  • Sofia Bacchini
DOI
https://doi.org/10.3280/IC309-oa2
Submitted
novembre 19, 2025
Published
2025-11-25

Abstract

The explosive impact of decolonization processes in shaping the global order of the post-war era also contributed to the emergence of new routes and forms of student mobility, which intersected with the structural gaps in the educational systems of former colonial states and with the political dynamics of the Cold War. This paper examines recent historiographical contributions that view educational policies and emerging student mobility as central to articulating the relationship between the demands of decolonization, the opportunities presented by the Cold War, and the formation of new transnational identities. The selected case studies also offer a methodological reflection on the new configurations between global history and social history, and the migrant-student experience highlighting the connections across various dimensions, both geographical and non-geographical.

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