Globetrotters, or tourists making a World Tour, emerged in the latter part of the 19th century, taking advantage of Thomas Cook’s ‘Round the World’ Tour offer of 1872. Their travels through India, China and Japan created a sense of culture and place that we still use today. What we are going to consider and explore in this course is the way that globetrotters looked at the world, how their gaze developed in the period between 1870, when the opening of the Suez Canal promoted a greater accessibility to the East, and 1920 when luxury Cruise Liners changed the experience and culture of travel. We will be considering ideas of the authentic, cosmopolitanism and the cultural differentiation of India, China and Japan. They returned with souvenirs, photographs and stores that in turn went into museum collections, enshrining their adventures as part of our cultural history. In this course we will use globetrotters letters and photographs to look at the transformational power of travel.
Course aim
Follow in the footsteps of Victorian 'globetrotters' through India, China and Japan to discover the origins of the way we travel today, and how their stories shaped our ideas of the 'East'.
Do I need any particular skills or experience?
- You will need your own personal email address so that you’re able to login to the WEA’s digital learning platform: WEA Canvas. You will need to be able to understand how to follow URL links to pages on the internet. If you want to understand more about Canvas please visit: http://bit.ly/WEAonline
- You will need to be able to follow links to join our WEA live video learning platform: WEA Zoom. If you’d like to understand more about our video learning platform, Zoom please visit: http://bit.ly/WEAonline and http://bit.ly/ZoomSpec
- This course is for a group of around 15 students studying in a live video-learning platform conference and an online digital learning environment platform from the comfort of your own home.
- This is a live lecture delivered by a subject specialist in an online webinar video learning platform. You will need to be able to access the internet on a device with speakers or earphones. There will be opportunities to take part in discussions and chats. If you’d like to know how to use Zoom please visit: http://bit.ly/ZoomSpec
- This course is suitable for beginners and improvers
By the end of the course I should be able to:
- An understanding of how technological and social webs facilitated travel in the 19th century
- The cultural differentiation of India, China and Japan
- An understanding of the way identities of space and place were created by travellers.
- Understand 19th century ideas around taboo and transgression and how we still deploy these today.
- Consider the impact of material culture that travellers collected and how we build on it to create our own tropes of the 'East'.
How will I be taught?
- The WEA tutor will use a range of different teaching and learning methods and encourage you and the group to be actively involved in your learning
What kind of feedback can I expect?
- You will be able to keep a record of your progress and achievement using photos, audio, text or documents uploaded into the WEA’s digital learning platform, WEA Canvas.
- You will have opportunities to discuss your progress with your tutor
What else do I need to know?
- What you need: You will need an internet connection, speakers, a microphone and a webcam so that you can use our video learning platform, Zoom. If you’d like to understand more Zoom please visit: http://bit.ly/ZoomSpec
- You will also need access to the internet outside of your sessions. You could do this using a smart phone, tablet, laptop or a desktop computer (at home or through a library etc.).
- You will need a personal email address to join the WEA’s digital learning platform, Canvas so that you can receive resources, record your progress and achievement and to work with others and share ideas. If you want to understand more about our digital learning platform please visit: http://bit.ly/WEAonline
Pre-course work, reading and information sources
- You will have access to course resources and links to wider learning through the WEA’s digital learning platform, Canvas: http://bit.ly/WEAonline
- No pre reading is required but research on the subject on the internet or in the library may be helpful
What can I do next?
- Progress to another WEA course
Download full course information sheet
