Global scholars, international educators and the internal colonization of Danish research and higher education

’Internal colonialism’ describes a condition where a dominated group or nation accept their subordination as ’natural’, contributing to the spread of a colonial ideology through key institutions such as the school, legal system or church. One example is Scottish universities’ 18th century ’invention’ of English Literature and Rhetoric, supporting members of the Scottish elite who sought to rid their language of colloquialisms that might identify them as natives of Scotland rather than ’Britons’ (Crawford 1992). Arguably, we are currently witnessing a situation of ‘internal colonialism’ in Danish higher education and research where the prestige attached to ’global academia’ motivates academics to abandon their native Danish in favour of English-medium publications and teaching. Critics have read this practice as symptomatic of an ’Americanisation’ of scientific research and publishing, building on a terminology adopted from postcolonial theory. Yet the postcolonial argument overlooks the question of agency, including the very active role played by Danish intellectuals in ongoing processes of ‘Englishisation’. The present paper attempts to redress this imbalance, departing from two questions: 1) to what extent does the global ‘brand’ of academia shape the way actors perceive academic work; and 2) what are the consequences for the concrete practices individuals engage in when performing research and education?