Course objectives:
One of the central aims of this course is to reflect upon the cultural phenomenon of travel and to investigate the relationship between the discourse of travel and the process of identity formation. I would propose that economy as metaphor can be used to understand this relationship. In discussing economical categories to shed light on the phenomenon of travel, I will utilize the writings of George Bataille and his distinction between a restricted economy (the conventional economy of maximization of profit, exchange, etc) and a general economy.
This course on travel narratives would be a historical as well as theoretical survey of major and minor works, fictional or non-fictional, representing the authors' personal or cultural experience of the foreign. Starting from the Odyssey and covering some of the Medieval narratives of peregrination (Marco Polo in Italy and Ibn Battuta in Morocco), the course would concentrate more on the 19th and 20th centuries. The travel narratives of these periods are analyzed within the context of colonialism (19th and the first part of the 20th century) as well as within the context of the phenomenon of tourism (roughly the second part of the 20th century).

Required Texts:
The course will cover the following works, to be purchased at Goering's bookstore.
George van den Abbeele's Travel as Metaphor (theoretical)
David Spurr's The Rhetoric of Empire (theoretical)
Roland Barthes's The Empire of Signs (theoretical/historical)
Eva Hoffman's Lost in Translation (autobiography)
Bruce Chatwin's The Songlines (travelogue)
Jamaica Kincaid's A Small Place
coursepack

Further Reading: Georges Bataille's The Accursed Share. Volume I (theoretical/historical)

Reading list for the final project:

Mary Kingsley's Travels in West Africa; Robert Byron's The Road to Oxiana; James Buchan's The Persian Bride; Allison Wearing's Honeymoon in Purdah: An Iranian Journey; Tayeb Saleh's Season of Migration to the North; Hanif Kureishi's The Buddha of Suburbia; Hanan al-Shaykh's Only in London: A Novel; Leila Ahmed's A Border Passage: A Woman's Journey; Mahmud Darwish's Memory for Forgetfulness: August, Beirut, 1982; Andre Aciman's False Papers: Essays on Exile and Memory; Taghi Modarressi's The Book of Absent People; Shusha Guppy's The Blindfold Horse: Memories of a Persian Childhood; Marjane Satrapi's Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood; Azar Nafisi's Reading Lolita in Tehran: A Memoir in Books; Nahid Rachlin's Foreigner: A Novel; Tara Bahrampour's To See and See Again: A Life in Iran and America; Gelareh Asayesh's Saffron Sky: A Life Between Iran and America

Grading policy:

Participation/ presentation 10%
Attendance 10%

Mid-term 35%
Final 35%

Journals/Response papers 10%

Course Requirements:

1. Class presentation of the reading material. Students will be assigned in advance for class presentation.
2. Response papers, of one double-spaced page, responding to all the assigned readings as well as movies. They need to be grammatically sound: well-constructed sentences, no spelling errors, etc.
3. Eight journal entries (thought journals) of a paragraph of no less than eight double-spaced lines. The journal entries will be collected at various times during the semester. Please use a folder.
4. Midterm and final exams.

Grading Scale:

A: For superior work with a forceful and compelling thesis, clearly and imaginatively written, devoid of grammatical and stylistic errors, thoughtfully organized, insightful, and creative.
A= 100-90

B: For quality work, substantive in argument and organization, with strong thesis and support, well organized and free from most technical errors, fairly well-polished and proofread.
B+ = 89-86,
B- = 85-80

C: For competent work, fulfills the assignment adequately, has clear thesis and some support, sufficiently organized, free from most technical errors, somewhat polished and superficially proofread.
C+ = 79-76
C- = 75-70

D: For inadequate work, unfocused and confusing, awkwardly written, ineffective thesis, and unpolished.
D + = 69-66
D- = 65-60

E: For unacceptable work, weak or confusing thesis, half-completed, irrelevant material, and no sense of organization or structure. E = 59 or bellow

Rules and Regulations

1) Because students are to spend time in class on their writing, on consideration of varied viewpoints in class discussions, and on how audiences respond to drafts in workshops, class attendance is required.
a. No unexcused absences are allowed. One absence due to illness or family crisis will be excused if documented to the instructor's satisfaction. Each unexcused absence will reduce the final grade by 10%. Students participating in a university-sponsored event (athletics, theater, music, field trip) will be excused if there is documentation from an appropriate authority. Students excused from an absence are not excused from the work assigned for a class session; each student must arrange with the instructor for make-up procedures.
b. One or two tardies will be excused if the reasons are acceptable to the instructor (e.g., a long exam in the previous class; a bus breakdown) and if there is valid documentation. Otherwise, tardiness is unacceptable because disruptive; Three unexcused tardies is equivalent to one unexcused absence, i.e., subject to reduction of the final grade by 10%.

2) All assignments must be done and submitted at the beginning of class on the day assigned and in the assigned format. Each assignment will have specific features, but in general, major essay assignments are on 8" ×11"1/2 white, smooth -edged paper, in font 12, double-spaced with 1" margins on all sides, and on one side. All out-of-class essays must have rough drafts that show individual revisions, and they must be typed or printed with ribbons or ink dark enough for easy reading.

3) Each out-of-class essay must be photocopied so that a student will have a copy to keep until the original is returned.

4) All work must be completed for a grade since the work assigned fulfills the Gordon Rule, which stipulates that students are to write a minimum of 6000 words that receive feedback, are graded, and give experience in various types of writing important in the disciplines, workplace, and civic arena.
5) The success of this class hinges on class participation. Individually, you are expected to participate regularly in ongoing discussions. If you do not speak in class, you will not receive an "A," no matter the quality of your written work.

6) All students are expected to honor their commitment to the university's honor code. Unless otherwise indicated by the instructor in connection with class group work, all work must be individual and original. Evidence of collusion (working with another student or tutor not connected with the class), plagiarism (use of another's ideas, data, and/or statements without acknowledgment or with only minimal acknowledgment) or multiple submissions (submitting the same work for more than one class) will lead to the procedures set up by the university for academic dishonesty.

7) Each student is expected to show respect for diversity or opinions expressed during discussions and in drafts. Each student is also expected to balance the desire to express opinions with the recognition that other students in the class also desire to be heard. Also expected are respect for the gender, racial, and ethnic differences among students in public-supported institutions.

8) Complaints about separate assignments are to be discussed with the instructor, not with the department. Complaints about the final grade should be discussed with the instructor in at least one conference soon after the next term begins. If the conference on the final grade does not resolve the problem in valid, college-level manner, the complaint can be expressed on a form in the English office, 4008 TURL; the form must be accompanied with copies of every assignment and the instructor's directions. The form and accompanying course material will be given to the Director of Writing Program for further action. The review committee may decide the grade should remain as it is or be raised or lowered; its decision is final. The material submitted for the complaint is to remain on file in the English Department.

Week 1 (Aug 25-29)
T: Introduction
R: The Epic of Gilgamesh (1800-1600 BCE)

Week 2 (Sep 1-5)
T: The Odyssey (8th cent. BCE); The Conference of Birds (12th cent..AD)
R: Marco Polo (13th cent. AD); Ibn Battutah (14th cent.AD), documentary on Marco Polo

Week 3 (Sep 8-12)
T: Pasolini's Arabian Nights (film)
R: Montaigne (16th cent.); Travel as Metaphor, intro & chapter 1

Week 4 (Sep 15-19)
T: Travel as Metaphor, chapter 2 & 3
R: Travel as Metaphor, chapter 4

Week 5 (Sep 22-26)
T: The Rhetoric of Empire, intro, chapters 1, 2, 3
R: The Rhetoric of Empire, chapters 4, 5, 6, 11

Week 6 (Sep 29- Oct 3)
T: A Passage to India I (film)
R: A Passage to India II (film)

Week 7 (Oct 6-10)
T: Apocalypse Now (film)
R: documentary on Fanon

Week 8 (Oct 13-17)
T: mid-term exam
R: class discussion

Week 9 (Oct 20-24)
T: Barthes's Empire of Signs I
R: Barthes's Empire of Signs II

Week 10 (Oct 27-31)
T: Chatwin's The Songlines I
R: Chatwin's The Songlines II

Week 11 (Nov 3-7)
T: Hoffman's Lost in Translation I
R: Hoffman's Lost in Translation II

Week 12 (Nov 10-14)
T: Nov 11, Veteran's Day, no class
R: class discussion

Week 13 (Nov 17-21)
T: Kincaid's A Small Place I
R: Kincaid's A Small Place II

Week 14 (Nov 24-28)
T: class discussion
R: Nov 27, Thanksgiving, no class

Week 15 (Dec 1-5)
T: conclusion
R: discussion of final project I

Week 16 (Dec 8-10)
T: discussion of final project II
Wednesday Dec 10 classes end

Final project due on Dec 15th