Cultural History of Travel

Fall & Spring | 3 credits | Elective
Majors: Anthropology and History

In the modern world, travel and tourism have become fundamental cultural practices through which people construct ideas about the self, society, nation, the past and others. Studying the practice and discourse of travel means dealing with a symbolic representation of the world, with an experience of a fictional environment, just like art. The course will consist of three parts: first, outlining some general dimensions of travel and tourism; second, mapping the historical foundations of modern tourism; third, focusing on recent developments in the field.

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Instructors

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As a part of this course, students will analyze tourist brochures, post cards, and 'tourist sites' in Copenhagen. As both temporary Copenhagen locals and European travellers, students will observe 'tourist' behavior and how it constructs a tourist's view of Copenhagen and other cities they visit. In the process of this class, students will  become more critical of their own roles as European travellers in addition to problematizing the categories of tourist, traveller, and local.

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