The Transatlantic Dialogue on Higher Education An Analysis of Cultural Narratives

Based on the assumption that higher education policy texts are cultural texts and can thus be interpreted as such, this dissertation has deconstructed some of the major cultural narratives inherent in US and European policy documents and analyzed them with regard to their function for the transatlantic dialogue. An analysis of cultural narratives brings to light underlying beliefs and perceptions prevailing in a particular culture. With regard to higher education policy, this means that a society's understanding of the function of education, but also hidden agendas and undisclosed objectives are revealed.Four such cultural narratives have been analyzed in this dissertation on the basis of a cultural critical approach which includes the Foucauldian theory of governmentality as well as aspects of postcolonial theory (Edward Said): the narrative of "coopetition," the narrative of decline, especially with regard to Humboldtian values and the alleged Americanization of European higher education, the narrative of the frontier and the question whether the Bologna Process can be read metaphorically as a European frontier myth, and the narrative of homeland security as it plays out in US education policy making. The analysis revealed that the transatlantic dialogue is shaped by interdependencies and a tug of war of cooperation and competition, but also that education fulfils different functions on both sides of the Atlantic. It also shows that globally, higher education has come to be seen as a major tool of governance. Thus, education policy documents can be regarded as highly relevant texts for a cultural critical analysis of the transatlantic dialogue from an American Studies perspective.