Eventful migration and intercultural self-formation: Ethical selves among Indonesian returnee migrant workers

Abstract

This article examines how returned Indonesian female migrant domestic workers retrospectively interpret the intercultural encounters they experienced during overseas employment. Drawing on qualitative interviews with 24 returnees from Cilacap, Indonesia, it explores how some encounters came to be understood as ethically significant after migration rather than merely as instances of cultural adaptation. Guided by Alain Badiou’s concept of the event, the analysis identifies three recurring ethical orientations that emerged across participants’ narratives: a cosmopolitan orientation characterized by expanded engagement with cultural difference, a convivial orientation centered on the practical labor of sustaining coexistence, and an empathic orientation expressed through ethical engagement with religious and cultural others. The findings contribute to intercultural adaptation and learning research by showing how intercultural encounters may become enduring sources of ethical self-formation rather than simply communicative competence or behavioral adjustment.

The authors' abstract, as published at the source. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 2026 · DOI ↗