Undergraduate - UnitATS3631 - The idea of travel: Global perspectives

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Notes

Synopsis

Travel is essential in modern life, yet we rarely pause to think about the role of travel over time and the way in which travel and travellers have shaped our world. This unit examines the history and impact of global travel from earliest times until the present, concluding with questions about the future of travel. Lectures will develop a number of key themes which will be explored in detail in tutorials through the examination of specific examples and case studies. These themes will have an international focus and will include exploration, cultural encounter, pilgrimage, migration, technology, tourism and mass travel, travel imagery and writing and the environmental impact of travel.

Outcomes

Students successfully completing ATS3631 will be expected to demonstrate:

1. an understanding of several key themes relating to the role and impact of travel;
2. an appreciation of the complex ways in which travel and cultural encounter have shaped and continue to shape modern society;
3. a critical understanding of the various interpretations that inform the historical and contemporary analysis of these phenomena;
4. an enhanced understanding of the relationship between fictional and non-fictional representations of travel and encounter and of arguments about cultural change and representation;
5. enhanced skills in the critical and analytical reading of a variety of texts, including contemporary documents, polemical literature, historical scholarship visual representations and web-based evidence, and specifically the development of skills in source criticism, critical reading, the development of research and writing skills, especially the use of evidence and primary sources, analysing different interpretations of an event or issue, organising and defending an argument, and writing with precision and imagination; and
6. the capacity to work with others and present conclusions in oral form; and
7. enhanced skills in the formulation of an independent research project and in the development of a comparative examination, including the location and critical analysis of relevant documentary sources.

Assessment

Class related written and oral work: 30%
Class Test: 20%
Essay related work: 50%

Chief examiner(s)

Dr Jane Drakard

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

International studies
History

Prohibitions

ATS2631