Navigating Difference and Fostering Transformative Learning: Teaching to Transgress in Pakistan

Melinda Gurr reflects on her decision to accept an offer of employment at the Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS) and her time living and teaching in Pakistan. Despite LUMS being one of South Asia’s top-ranked institutions, she encountered questions about  the move on the grounds of her gender and politics. Notwithstanding, and while encountering some difficulties, Melinda describes her rich and valuable experience living in Lahore. Against this background, she argues that academics should begin to value teaching abroad as much as we value fieldwork abroad. Exploring innovative educational cultures elsewhere represents an exciting opportunity to refashion our disciplinary practices and rethink our pedagogical methods, while making a positive contributions to people and places far away from home.