Undergraduate - UnitATS2444 - Inscribing Italy: travels and imaginings

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Notes

Synopsis

Dedicated to the creative practices of travel writing this unit maps the roots and routes of English-language travel in Italy from the aristocratic travel of the English Renaissance to the Grand Tourists of the twentieth century, the rise of middle-class tourism and the travel genre in the nineteenth century and mass tourism and cyber travel of today. Through an eclectic range of sources including travel books, essays and fiction, which focus mainly on contemporary or near-contemporary cultural and aesthetic responses to Italy including those articulated in guidebooks the unit will explore ways in which the travel writer may creatively 'package' the country in the production of travel texts.

Outcomes

On successful completion of this unit students will have:

1. Drawn both creative inspiration and direction from a range of texts set in Italy;
2. A clear understanding of the place of Italy in the imagination of English-language travelers;
3. A critical sense of the historical development of cultural responses to Italy articulated in a range of texts;
4. Knowledge of the relationship between travel writing and ideology, especially in specific cultural (including gendered) contexts;
5. An informed grasp of contemporary critical and theoretical approaches to the diverse discourses of travel and representation;
6. A grasp of the changing practices of travel and tourism;
7. Critical perspectives on the processes of the production and reception of travel texts.

Assessment

Research/creative exercise (1800 words): 40%
Essay/creative piece (1800 words): 40%
Test (900 words): 20%

Chief examiner(s)

Associate Professor Chandani Lokuge

Contact hours

Two week intensive:
Week 1
Four 1-hour lectures
Four 2-hour seminars

Week 2
Two 1-hour lectures
Four 2-hour seminars plus field work

This unit applies to the following area(s) of study

Communications
English
Literary studies

Prerequisites

First year Literary Studies or Communications sequence or other first year sequence as approved by co-ordinator.

Prohibitions

ATS3444