Travel Writing in the English Speaking World

Objectives

a) To become familiar with the interdisciplinary field of travel writing studies (object, concepts, terminology, theoretical and critical approaches, research resources); b) To acquire a panoramic view of the history of travel writing through the ages, with particular emphasis on the one produced in English; c) To become familiar with the tradition of travel writing written in English about Portugal; d) To acquire knowledge about literary imagology and the instruments of analysis for its study; e) To become familiar with critical bibliography on the matters studied; f) To be able to relate texts and contexts and apply the theoretical knowledge acquired in the critical analysis of selected travel narratives (from the most traditional and classic to the most innovative and those resulting from the new technologies of the digital age); g) To develop autonomous research skills oriented to the field of travel writing studies

General characterization

Code

02107514

Credits

10.0

Responsible teacher

Maria Zulmira Bandarra de Sousa Verissimo Castanheira

Hours

Weekly - 3

Total - 280

Teaching language

English

Prerequisites

Available soon

Bibliography

Bendixen, A. and J. Hamera, eds. (2009). The Cambridge Companion to American Travel Writing. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Clarke, R. (Ed.) (2018). The Cambridge Companion to Postcolonial Travel Writing.Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Das, N. and T. Youngs (Ed.) (2019). The Cambridge History of Travel Writing. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Hulme, P. and T. Youngs (Eds.) (2002). The Cambridge Companion to Travel Writing.Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Journal of Anglo-Portuguese Studies (1990-2019): issues 1-28.japs.fcsh.unl.pt Macaulay, R. (1985). They Went to Portugal. London: Penguin Books. Studies in Travel Writing (1997-2020): volumes 1-23.https://www.tandfonline.com/toc/rstw20/current Thompson, C. (Ed.) (2020 [2016]). The Routledge Companion to Travel Writing. London and New York: Routledge. Thompson, C. (2011). Travel Writing. London and New York: Routledge. Whitfield, P. (2011). Travel: A Literary History. Oxford: Bodleian Library.

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  • Bendixen, A. and J. Hamera, eds. (2009). The Cambridge Companion to American Travel Writing. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
  • Clarke, R. (Ed.) (2018). The Cambridge Companion to Postcolonial Travel Writing.Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
  • Das, N. and T. Youngs (Ed.) (2019). The Cambridge History of Travel Writing. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
  • Hulme, P. and T. Youngs (Eds.) (2002). The Cambridge Companion to Travel Writing.Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
  • Journal of Anglo-Portuguese Studies (1990-2019): issues 1-28.japs.fcsh.unl.pt
  • Macaulay, R. (1985). They Went to Portugal. London: Penguin Books.
  • Studies in Travel Writing (1997-2020): volumes 1-23.https://www.tandfonline.com/toc/rstw20/current
  • Thompson, C. (Ed.) (2020 [2016]). The Routledge Companion to Travel Writing. London and New York: Routledge.
  • Thompson, C. (2011). Travel Writing. London and New York: Routledge.
  • Whitfield, P. (2011). Travel: A Literary History. Oxford: Bodleian Library.

Teaching method

Seminars of a theoretical-practical nature, in which the theoretical presentation of the themes is articulated with group commentary, critique and debate on the texts and students’ oral presentations on aspects of the curriculum. Students’ research will be guided and supported with a view to preparing them for the writing of the individual final paper.

Evaluation method

Método de Avaliação - The method followed will consist of rewarding regular attendance, keeping up with required reading, contributing to debates by means of spontaneous interventions in class, displaying a capacity for establishing relations at the conceptual level and consistency in developing arguments, making brief oral presentations which had been requested previously(30%), and writing, under tutorials, an individual research paper of about 15 pages (excluding bibliography and appendices) on one of the themes of the curriculum(70%)

Subject matter

1.Travel Writing: defining and studying the genre. 1.1. Forms and models of travel writing, practices of mobility, types of traveller, themes and motifs, styles, questions of authority, incredulity and trust. 1.2. Critical approaches, research resources. 2. An overview of travel writing through the ages: from the Ancient World to the Digital Era. 3.Representing/constructing the Other and the Self: looking outwards and inwards. 3.1.Objectivism vs subjectivism: from the focus on facts and empirical information to the centrality of the narratorial self. 3.2.Images, counter-images, stereotypes and cultural expectations. 3.3.Telling the travel experience: narrative conventions, strategies and techniques. 4. Analysis of a selected set of travel accounts in English, from more traditional and conventional texts to representative works of recent trends and developments, including British and North-American narratives of the encounter with the Portuguese Other.

Programs

Programs where the course is taught: