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Thriving on the growing literature on refugee participation in higher education (HE), this contribution sheds light on the institutional opportunity structure by examining how universities problematize and redefine social, juridical, and educational inequalities that characterize the participation of refugee and refugee-like students (here displaced students) in HE. The focus is on Italy, a context whose increasing sensitivity towards displaced students has yet to be thoroughly examined by dedicated research. Specifically, the paper inquires how Italian universities create obstacles and opportunities for displaced students by delving into the heterogeneity of dedicated institutional provisions implemented by 13 Italian public HEIs in the period 2015-2023. More than 160 documents and semi-structured interviews with 66 academic and administrative staff were collected. Data reveals that, first, university provisions differ along two key axes: the level of institutionalization and the level of performativity. Secondly, depending on their position along these two axes, university provisions enact distinct dynamics of in-exclusion. These dynamics, conceptualized here as bordering practices, operate across three main dimensions: geographical, symbolic, and social. Therefore, the paper argues that universities are not just educational providers, but also key bordering actors.

About the speaker

Cristina Mazzero is currently visiting ECS and is a PhD Candidate in Sociology and Social Research at the University of Trento (Italy). She is developing the research project “(Un-)Bordering in Higher Education: Student Displacement and the Italian Academia”, which investigates the characteristics and implications of Italian higher education policies addressing the inclusion of forcibly displaced students. Her main research interests concern, more broadly, forced migration in academic settings, international student mobility(ies), and academic freedom. Cristina is PhD Representative within the IMISCOE Standing Committee EduSocial and a member of the Jean Monnet Project: ‘European Societies and Academic Freedom’-ESAF.