ENH2660 - Here and there: The literature of travel

Leader(s): Michael Ackland

Offered

Not offered in 2009

Synopsis

Within an English-language context and within a broad historical timeframe, this unit examines a range of rationales and motivations for travel. In particular, it looks at the ways the travel experience (actual or imaginary) has found expression in literature. Texts range from accounts of medieval pilgrimages, through imaginary voyages and utopian fantasies, New World travellers' tales and the Grand Tour, through to contemporary devlopments in the genre including the (post)modern 'travel novel', the anthropology of travel and the rise to prominence of the popular travel writer.

Objectives

Students completing this unit will have gained:

1. An historical sense of the development of 'travel writing' as genre, along with knowledge of the diversity of narrative modes and discourses it encompasses.

2. Cultural knowledge of the relationship between travel writing and ideology, especially in specific, political and gendered contexts.

3. A sophisticated understanding of contemporary theoretical approaches to travel.

4. Critical perspectives on the production and consumption of travel writing.

5. An understanding of the cultural nuances of 'travel' compared with 'tourism', and how these are manifested in literature.

Assessment

Essay (2000 words): 50%
Class test (90 minutes): 20%
Short essay (1000 words): 20%
Participation: 10%

Contact hours

2 hours (1 x 2 hour seminar) per week

Prohibitions

CLS2660, CLS3660