Ateneo - UPO

TOURING CULTURES: ENGLISH LITERATURE AND THE DISCOURSES OF TOURISM

James Buzard, The Beaten Track: European Tourism, Literature, and the Ways to ‘Culture’ 1800-1918, Oxford, Clarendon Press, 2001 ISBN 0-19-812276-4; Luigi Marfè, Oltre la ‘fine dei viaggi’. I resoconti dell’altrove nella letteratura contemporanea, Firenze, Olschki, 2009 ISBN 978-88-222-5924-0; Tim Youngs, The Cambridge Introduction to Travel Writing, CUP, 2013 ISBN 9780521697392

This course aims at developing in-depth knowledge of the relations between literary discourse and the development of tourism as an historically determined cultural practice, with specific reference to a series of major nineteenth- and twentieth-century literary texts. It also aims at building up skills in the analysis of texts in prose and in verse.

B2 level of English

Lectures and in-class readings of primary texts

Students can choose between two forms of assessment:

A. only for students who have attended classes on a regular basis and have carried out in-class assignments (teamwork, max. 2 absences): assessment of in-class assignments (50% of the total grade) followed by oral exam (50%)

B. Students who have chosen not to carry out in-class assignments are required, prior to the oral exam, to write a paper on a topic of their own choice (50% of the total grade). The paper must be handed in at least one week before the oral exam.

For both A. and B. the oral exam (approx. 20 minutes) will start with the discussion of the paper and will assess:
- the knowledge of the texts/topics/authors covered in class;
- the knowledge of the cultural contexts of the primary texts;
- the ability to use the appropriate lexicon in English to communicate – clearly and effectively – knowledge, information and opinions;
- the degree of coherence, accuracy and relevance of the student's answers.

Grading criteria:
27-30: firm grasp of the topics dealt with; excellent analytical and argumentative skills; personal and critical approach
30 cum Laude: personal and critical approach; independent work on specific topics not included in the syllabus
23-26: mostly mnemonic/mechanical approach to the topics dealt with; satisfactory analytical and argumentative skills
18-22: basic knowledge of the topics dealt with; basic argumentative and analytical skills

This course will discuss various facets of the interaction between literary discourse and the development of tourism as an historically determined cultural practice. It will address issues such as: • The model provided by the Grand Tour and its nineteenth-century modifications (Lord Byron, Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage; Charles Dickens, Pictures from Italy) • The role of tourism in the process of (self-)representation of cultural identity (E.M. Forster, Room with a View) • The distinction between tourist and traveller, tourism and anti-tourism, and the related notion of authenticity (Bruce Chatwin, In Patagonia) • The development of specific narrative genres—travel writing, guidebooks, diaries, periodicals • The notion of Literary tourism

(KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING)
- in-depth knowledge of the relations between literary discourse and the development of tourism as an historically determined cultural practice
- knowledge of a series of nineteenth- and twentieth-century literary texts dealing with tourist practices.
- critical understanding of the texts studied, with specific reference to their linguistic component.
(APPLYING KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING)
- Ability to grasp and understand the connections between texts and contexts (historical, geographical, political), using the critical and methodological tools appropriate to the analysis of the texts considered.
- Ability to use the appropriate lexicon in English to communicate - clearly and effectively - knowledge, information and opinions related to the topics dealt with.
- Capacity to integrate and synthesize different kinds of material in a written/oral presentation; develop a cogent line of argument