A narrative of sexuality: reflections of a gay Latino man on his intercultural journey of study abroad

Abstract

This article is based on findings from my doctoral dissertation that investigated the narratives of former short-term study abroad (3–4 weeks) participants after they had settled back in their home country for one to two years. The theme of sexuality, as it relates to the intercultural journey of study abroad, was a prominent theme that arose from the narratives of one of the participants and continued 2 years after the participant had returned home and began to interact in their home country environments. There is a dearth of research on how the narrative of sexuality can inform the journey abroad and after the participant returns to their home country. Therefore, it is important to employ narrative and Queer methodologies in the study abroad research to explore issues related to sexuality. Employing such methodologies will help increase reflection in study abroad programs and will diversify the research and the curriculum to include other groups of students that are often underrepresented in the study abroad research.

Keywords:

• Long-term meaning
• study abroad
• intercultural journey
• narrative
• sexuality

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Mounia Mnouer

Mounia Mnouer is an independent scholar. She was a senior lecturer of Arabic in the department of Global Languages and Cultures at Northern Arizona University. She is originally from Morocco. Both her parents and their families are Indigenous people of Morocco, Imazighen. Mounia grew up in Meknes, Morocco and she identifies as Amazigh North African. She graduated with an English degree in Moulay Ismail University in Meknes, Morocco. She has been active in human rights’ matters, as she is working with the Moroccan Organization of Human Rights. After obtaining her Bachelors, she went to the United States to pursue her Master’s degree in TESL. She finished her PhD in Education at Northern Arizona University in 2018. Her dissertation focus was on study abroad and intercultural understanding. She works on autoethnographies that pertain to Amazigh identities in the diaspora, issues of decolonizing the Arabic classroom, and engaging in social justice education.