Course overview
The aim of this course is to provide students with an understanding of the travel writing form, both from an historical standpoint and a more practical contemporary perspective. Students will gain an understanding of the variety of issues associated with being a travel writer in the 21st Century in order to contextualise the development of the form and its movement in the future. This course takes students through the varied history of travel writing, from Herodotus' writing in Persia and its function as a tool of discovery with Marco Polo, Captain Cook and Robert Byron. The course then explores the re-thinking of travel writing around environmental impact, cultural awareness, the genre's role in the modern media environment and the post-COVID impact. From a contemporary standpoint this course also introduces students to the expectations upon modern travel writers, from freelancing and pitching to story planning and safety. This will also observe the form's intersections with journalism, the ethical considerations for writers and how travel writers sustain the form as an ongoing profession.
Course learning outcomes
- examine the history of travel writing and its intersections with other academic disciplines
- identify the key requirements, including ethical and legal obligations, of professional practice
- identify key issues in the contemporary field
- adapt and write in a real-world scenario