The Pacific, Travel & Empire

Catalog description

This cultural studies course examines the cultures of travel (i.e. fiction, memoirs, photography, and filmmaking) in narratives by and about the Pacific, South and Southeast Asia. We will study “empire” by analyzing narratives about the former colonies of Spain, France, Britain and the United States. As we discuss the metaphors or tropes of empire, we will also examine the concept of empire as a historical and contemporary formation, or what an empire meant in the 19th century and what it means today in the early 21st century. The course begins with the premise that travel narratives and modern visual culture illuminate the relationship between the violence and romance of travel. The course includes modern travel narratives (i.e. novels by Asian Americans) that focus on the lives of those who are forced to travel or migrate due to civil war, poverty and/or economic instability. Covers the Interdisciplinary topic for the English major.