Travel Classics: Before Tourism

K20.1539

2 Credits

TR 11:00-12:15

Course meets for the first seven weeks only.

Steve Hutkins

The origins of mass tourism can be found in ancient times, when thousands traveled to the Olympic games and to festivals in Egypt, but the modern version of tourism gets its start in the eighteenth century with the Grand Tour - the rite-of-passage, “study abroad” experience of young aristocrats. In this course, we focus on the literature of travel before modern tourism begins. We’ll read some of the classics of travel writing, with attention to the conventions of the genre, the influence of myth and hero literature on the traveler’s tale, the Old World’s encounter with the New, and the many social and political questions raised by travel. Readings may include selections from Homer’s Odyssey, Herodotus’ History of the Persian Wars, Travels of Marco Polo, The Travels of Ibn Battouta,  The Four Voyages of Christopher Columbus, The Relacion of Cabeza de Vaca, and Shakespeare’s The Tempest.