In this course, we will join the swelling ranks of armchair travelers, exploring the limits and advantages of the narrative as a vehicle for travel. While reading a selection of journalistic reports, travel diaries, fake guidebooks, and creative non-fiction, we will take up a number of important questions:

• What are the ethical responsibilities and environmental impacts associated with tourism?
• How valid is the stereotype of the “Ugly American” tourist abroad?
• To what extent does immersing ourselves in unfamiliar locales and cultures alter the way we think about and understand ourselves?
• What is the relationship between identity and place?
• How does embarking on a journey affect our definition and view of home?

While reading about the politics of tourism with Jamaica Kincaid, boarding the cruise ship from hell with David Foster Wallace, and exposing the seamy underbelly of American history with Sarah Vowell, we will help each other navigate these and other important questions.

Format: Each participant is encouraged but not required to create a brief presentation. Presenters will do additional background research and lead a class discussion about a topic relevant to that day’s reading material.

Resources/Expenses: This class will require the purchase of two slim volumes: Jamaica Kincaid’s A Small Place and Alain de Botton’s A Week at the Airport, each available used for $6.00 and up online. Additional short readings will be provided as email attachments by the coordinator.