2008 Handbooks

Tourism is the world's single largest industry today. This course explores the history, meanings and experiences of travel and tourism from late antiquity to the present day through themes such as gender, class, race, imperialism, war, sexuality, modernity, postmodernity and consumption. It considers the historiography of travel as well as the uses of history in inspiring or selling travel and tourism. Topics include: How do we define travel and tourism; the medieval pilgrimage; the age of exploration; the Grand Tour; travel and cultural production of the Age of Empire; exoticism and primitivism; battlefield tourism; eco-tourism; sex tourism; Third World travel and cultural imperialism. Students will be encouraged to think historically about their own travel experiences and their consumption of travel-related products such as art, postcards, souvenirs, backpacker stories, travel diaries, books and films.