Ateneo - UPO

TOURING CULTURES: ENGLISH LITERATURE AND THE DISCOURSES OF TOURISMThis course examines the interaction between English literary discourse and the development of tourism as a historically determined cultural practice. It explores how travel, tourism, and literary representation have contributed to the construction of cultural identity, national stereotypes, aesthetic taste, class distinctions, gender roles, and ideas of authenticity.The course begins with the model of the Grand Tour and its nineteenth-century transformations, focusing on Italy, the Alps, and the Romantic and Victorian imagination. It then moves to the emergence of modern tourism, anti-tourism, and literary tourism. Through poetry, travel writing, fiction, guidebooks, diaries, and other forms of cultural mediation, students will analyze how literature has shaped, criticized, and redefined the experience of travel.

James Buzard, The Beaten Track: European Tourism, Literature, and the Ways to ‘Culture’ 1800-1918, Clarendon Press, 2001; Tim Youngs, The Cambridge Introduction to Travel Writing, CUP, 2013; Mary Louise Pratt, Imperial Eyes: Travel Writing and Transculturation, Routledge, 2008.

The course is aligned with the specific learning objectives of the Master’s Degree Programme in Languages, Cultures and Tourism, which aims to develop advanced linguistic and literary competencies in the languages studied, complemented by in-depth knowledge in the artistic, cultural, historical, ethno-anthropological, and geographical domains.The foundational learning objectives of the course are: understanding the historical development of tourism as a socially determined practice, from the Grand Tour to modern mass tourism; grasping the relationship between literary discourse and tourist practices, identifying the role of guidebooks, diaries, letters, periodicals, and travel narratives in shaping travel experience; understanding the representation of Italy as a tourist space; developing critical arguments through close reading and discussion of secondary sources. A more advanced objective is developing the ability to critically analyze the texts under consideration, with particular attention to their linguistic dimension.

B2 level of English according to the CEFR.

Of the course’s 6 ECTS credits, 30 hours are devoted to in-person taught instruction, organised into teaching units. These hours also include interactive learning activities, such as guided seminar discussions. The remaining workload is devoted to guided independent study through the individual reading and analysis of the texts included in the syllabus.
Each teaching unit comprises:
- a lecture introducing the relevant historical, literary, and cultural contexts;
- the reading of the primary texts;
- student presentations based on their individual work on the texts, carried out through Google Drive activities accessible via links provided in the “Assignments” section of the course’s DIR page.

Classes and assignments are in English. The oral exam must be taken in English by students enrolled in the Master’s degree programme in Lingue, Culture, Turismo, while students enrolled in other Master’s degree programmes in the Department of Humanities may take it in Italian if so they wish.The syllabus is the same for attending and non-attending students.Students with physical disabilities, Learning Disabilities or Special Education Needs can request specific services and tools via the Staff Sviluppo e Coordinamento Carriere e Servizi alle Studentesse e agli Studenti, consulting the University webpage: https://www.uniupo.it/en/services/services-students-physical-or-learning-disabilities Students with disabilities, learning disabilities or special education needs, once they have contacted the University Staff, can refer to the tutor in charge of the course to define the examination modalities, concerning academic aspects.

Assessment consists of an oral examination lasting approximately 20 minutes, designed to evaluate:
1. knowledge of the historical development of tourism;
2. knowledge of the relationship between literary discourse and tourism practices, with particular reference to representations of Italy;
3. the ability to analyse a passage from the texts on the syllabus, with particular attention to the relationship between text and context—historical, geographical, political, and gender-related—and to its linguistic, rhetorical, and stylistic features.
Criteria for awarding grades:
28–30: a coherent and comprehensive understanding of the topics covered; excellent ability to contextualise, synthesise, and analyse texts; excellent command of expression.
26–27: a substantially accurate presentation, with some minor imperfections in content and expression.
23–25: a largely mechanical and/or rote-based knowledge of the subject matter; expression is not always appropriate.
18–22: minimal knowledge of the syllabus; inability to go beyond a simple summary of the plots when discussing the texts; poor command of expression.
A failing grade will be awarded for an oral exam that demonstrates lack of familiarity with the syllabus, inability to contextualise, use of inappropriate language.
Honours will be awarded for the ability to develop a personal and critical interpretation of the topics covered and for in-depth study of specific subjects, including material beyond that presented in class and listed in the examination syllabus.
Completion, within the stated deadlines, of all the activities supporting the reading of the texts contained in the “Assignments” section of the course’s DIR page entitles students to a reduction of the examination syllabus by TWO teaching units, chosen by the student.

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 and the attendant gender dynamics (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 tourismUnit 1: The Grand Tour: Origins, Models, and Cultural MeaningsUnit 2: Lord Byron, Childe Harold's Pilgrimage and Literary TourismUnit 3: Women Travellers, Modern Tourism, and the Guidebook: Murray and BaedekerUnit 4: Charles Dickens, Pictures from ItalyUnit 5: E. M. Forster, A Room with a View: Tourism and Cultural Identity Unit 6: Twentieth-Century Travellers and Tourists: The End of Journeying? Bruce Chatwin, In Patagonia

In order to achieve the knowledge, skills, and abilities corresponding to the basic level, the student is required to demonstrate: (KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING) knowledge of the key developments in the evolution of tourism as a socially determined practice; understanding how English literary discourse relates to the phenomenon of tourism in the 19th and 20th centuries; (SKILLS) ability to place the assigned texts in their context of production and reception; (TRANSVERSAL SKILLS) ability to clearly and effectively present knowledge, information, and opinions on the topics covered, using appropriate language and terminology. To achieve an advanced level, the student must demonstrate the ability to analyze the assigned texts with particular attention to their linguistic dimension; read the texts from a critical perspective, identifying their individual peculiarities and points of connection.