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    Overview

    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.

    About this paper

    Paper title Creative Writing: Travel Narratives
    Subject English
    EFTS 0.15
    Points 18 points
    Teaching period Not offered in 2024 (On campus)
    Domestic Tuition Fees ( NZD ) $981.75
    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
    Teaching staff

    Professor Simone Marshall

    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

    Timetable

    Not offered in 2024

    Location
    Dunedin
    Teaching method
    This paper is taught On Campus
    Learning management system
    Blackboard
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