UO Travel Writing

Course aim

To provide students with an understanding of the travel writing form, both from an historical standpoint and a more practical contemporary perspective. 

Course content

Students will gain an understanding of the variety of issues associated with being a travel writer in the 21st Century in order to contextualise the development of the form and its movement in the future. This course takes students through the varied history of travel writing, from Herodotus’ writing in Persia and its function as a tool of discovery with Marco Polo, Captain Cook and Robert Byron. The course then explores the re-thinking of travel writing around environmental impact, cultural awareness, the genre’s role in the modern media environment and the post-COVID impact. From a contemporary standpoint this course also introduces students to the expectations upon modern travel writers, from freelancing and pitching to story planning and safety. This will also observe the form’s intersections with journalism, the ethical considerations for writers and how travel writers sustain the form as an ongoing profession.

Textbooks

Nil

Prerequisites

The following courses will also be pre-requisites for this course, once created: UO Journalism Principles and Practices UO Journalism Theory and Practice

Corequisite(s)

Nil

Teaching Method

Note: These components may or may not be scheduled in every study period. Please refer to the timetable for further details.

Assessment

Essay, Presentation, Project

Fees

EFTSL*: 0.125
Commonwealth Supported program (Band 4A)
To determine the fee for this course as part of a Commonwealth Supported program, go to:
How to determine your Commonwealth Supported course fee. (Opens new window)

Fee-paying program for domestic and international students
International students and students undertaking this course as part of a postgraduate fee paying program must refer to the relevant program home page to determine the cost for undertaking this course.

Non-award enrolment
Non-award tuition fees are set by the university. To determine the cost of this course, go to:
How to determine the relevant non award tuition fee. (Opens new window)

Not all courses are available on all of the above bases, and students must check to ensure that they are permitted to enrol in a particular course.

* Equivalent Full Time Study Load. Please note all EFTSL values are published and calculated at ten decimal places. Values are displayed to three decimal places for ease of interpretation