Why do people travel—for opportunity, survival, education, or enjoyment? Over its 250-year history, the United States has contributed some distinctive, game-changing innovations to human mobility. From pre-Columbian nomads to later settlers, immigrants, explorers, and nonconformists, travel has dramatically shaped American history. What’s more, travel-related literature, popular culture, art, and film—think Thelma and Louise (1991) or Smoke Signals (1998)—have fueled enduring American myths of the open road as a metaphor for success, social justice, and freedom. Though this course will focus on the development of tourism and its variants, we will also investigate related modes of travel, including migration, automobility, roadside culture, eco-tourism, “Greenbook” travel, eco-tourism, “selfie” culture, and overtourism, especially emphasizing travel’s importance for women, people of color, and queer people.

Units: 1

Max Enrollment: 25

Prerequisites: None

Distribution Requirements: LL - Language and Literature

Typical Periods Offered: Fall

Semesters Offered this Academic Year: Fall