Content

The course consists of the following:

Why do people travel? Travel has always been central to humanity. While mass tourism only originated in the nineteenth century, seasonal migration, pilgrimage and other forms of travel existed in most societies long before that period. Today, the practice of journeying across imagined as well as physical ‘borders’ is practically universal, and travel encompasses many areas of social life. Undoubtedly, transnational mobilities are now among the most pervasive and visible activities the world over. While travel motivations widely differ, ‘free’ movement is often fuelled by the incessant desire for novelty and difference and propelled by prefabricated images and myths about ‘Other’ peoples and places. At the same time, human mobilities are marked by fundamental imbalances of power, reflecting economic disparities, and providing grounds for sociocultural conflict. As a central dimension of globalisation, cross-border travels offer us a useful lens on many key questions about transnationalism and cosmopolitanism, identity and heritage, commoditisation, historical and cultural representation, authenticity and ownership, inequality, gender relations, environmental sustainability, and more. How do people move across various sociocultural boundaries and how do they create specific cultures of mobility?

Drawing upon contemporary anthropological concepts and theories of movement and border crossings (rather than place and location), this course analyses ‘travel’ as a dynamic set of sociocultural practices and discourses. Students are invited to think critically about the complex interrelationships between various forms of border-crossing mobilities.

Learning activities include:
- Reading assignments (before each session)
- Presentation of reading assignments in class
- Researching and writing a research paper

During these activities we focus on:
- Relating anthropological theorizing to the topic of the course (analysis)
- Structuring academic texts about the course topic (synthesis)
- Analysing issues related to the course from an anthropological perspective (analysis)
- Applying anthropological theories to new case studies (application)
- Critically processing discourses and images related to the topic of the course (evaluation)

Course material

Used course material includes:

- Articles and book chapters

- Slides, courseware

- Multimedia

Course material, including a reference list, is available on Toledo.

Format: more information

Discussion - Flipped classroom - Guest lecture - Paper - Presentation

Learning activities include:

- Reading assignments (before each session)

Every student is expected to have carefully read the assigned texts BEFORE each lecture and to participate actively in the discussion of the materials during the lecture. No specific feedback is provided for this element, but the lecturer will contact students personally should problems arise (e.g. in case of insufficient participation).

Presentation of reading assignments in class: Each student is required to prepare and lead the discussion of (at least) one assigned text. This involves a thorough reading of the assigned text so that the student can present and synthesise the reading, generate and answer questions, and lead the overall discussion. Following the presentation in class, the students will receive feedback on their performance.

Researching and writing a research paper: In consultation with the course instructor, students will write a final paper, around 4000 words in length (excluding references). An electronic version (preferably in PDF-format) of the paper needs to be uploaded to Toledo BEFORE the official deadline (the first Monday of the examination period).  

An assessment sheet with details regarding the evaluation will be made available for consultation after the exam period and every student will be given the opportunity to discuss the results with the lecturer.