A practical course on writing travel narratives, with an emphasis on examining noted examples of travel writing from throughout history.
Ishmael's attempts to represent the homeland of Queequeg are frustrated by the difficulty
of faithfully rendering the foreign into familiar terms.
As every travel
writer knows, maps and books tell only part of the truth. By what process does the
traveller describe, interpret and represent people and places that are other to him?
Among
the chief characteristics that will be examined in this paper are the role of the
narrator/traveller; a narrative style that borrows from fiction; the representation
of the strange and exotic in ways that familiarise and distance the foreign; a concern
with language and literature; and thematic concerns that go beyond descriptions of
people and places visited.
Students will create their own travel narratives
by employing the techniques learnt from examining and assessing the travel narratives
written by others.
| Paper title | Creative Writing: Travel Narratives |
|---|---|
| Paper code | ENGL337 |
| Subject | English |
| EFTS | 0.15 |
| Points | 18 points |
| Teaching period | Not offered in 2023 (On campus) |
| Domestic Tuition Fees (NZD) | $955.05 |
| International Tuition Fees | Tuition Fees for international students are elsewhere on this website. |
- Prerequisite
- 18 200-level ENGL points
- Schedule C
- Arts and Music
- Notes
- Students who have not passed the normal prerequisite may be admitted with approval from the Head of Department.
- Contact
- simone.marshall@otago.ac.nz
- More information link
View more information on the English and Linguistics Programme website
- Teaching staff
- Paper Structure
- ENGL 337 is taught in one 2-hour workshop each week of the semester. The first half of the semester will be devoted to reading and analysing the techniques of travel narratives, and the second half of the semester will be devoted to workshopping your own travel writings.
- Textbooks
To be confirmed when paper is next offered.
- Graduate Attributes Emphasised
- Global perspective, Interdisciplinary perspective, Lifelong learning, Scholarship,
Communication, Critical thinking, Information literacy, Research, Self-motivation.
View more information about Otago's graduate attributes. - Learning Outcomes
Students who complete this paper will have achieved the following results:
- Developed a familiarity with and knowledge of significant examples of travel narrative literature
- Developed the necessary critical thinking skills required to assess travel narrative literature
- Developed an awareness and understanding of the techniques and methods used in writing travel narratives
- Developed the skills and knowledge to write travel narratives independently
- Developed the skills and knowledge of the writing process, particularly the process of revision and editing of writing
