From seedy bars to holy sites, Europeans journeyed to colonized spaces to encounter people and places they would never see at home. This class examines how European peoples participated in the imperial project through their travels. It tackles a history of Europe and empire through different frameworks (Orientalism, gender studies…) and methods (mainly primary source analysis and Web-based tools). Students will examine how Europeans “experienced” empire through travel, including safaris, sex tourism, and mission work. This will include a brief study of European travel themes, such as the Grand Tour, transportation technology, and mass tourism, with our focus mainly on what happened when Europeans vacationed in “their” overseas holdings. As a class, we will also embark on an extended case study of Saharan travel, analyzing guidebooks on the subject and producing a Web site featuring original content and an interactive map
