Emotional Difficulties: Racial Representation in Swiss International Higher Education

This article examines the affective-discursive responses of students and administrators to representations of diversity. In total, 31 interview participants were presented with a set of nine images sourced from international study office websites. The affective-discursive analysis of their responses utilizes a synthetic framework designed to investigate reactions to representations of race. The analysis suggests the emergence of the concept of "emotional difficulties" in response to these representations of diversity. Interview respondents evaluated, positioned, and aligned themselves, resulting in three distinct types of emotional difficulty: uncritical acceptance, aggressive indifference, and wry amusement. The article argues that these emotional difficulties serve as a manifestation of students' affective-discursive reactions to inclusion and diversity in higher education and are an integral component of how students navigate the intricate complexities of diversity representation.