What does it mean to travel? Is a traveler the same as a tourist? Is a migrant, immigrant, or refugee a “traveller”? Is study abroad “travel”? Is it responsible to travel in the face of a global pandemic, climate change, and increasing economic inequity? Do the benefits of travel outweigh its negative impacts? 

The benefits of travel are often framed in terms of personal enrichment, but travel can also have positive impacts on destination communities. Travel can bring financial incentives in the form of job formation, increase travelers’ awareness of global inequity, and promote understanding, education, and collaboration between cultures. However, overtourism can have severe negative consequences on travel destinations. Citizens of Barcelona have long lashed out at increasing tourism in their city, complaining of overcrowding, vast amounts of waste, and high noise levels, among other concerns. During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, national parks in the US were overrun with record levels of visitors, leading to damage to natural landmarks and overflowing garbage receptacles. Those who chose to travel internationally during the COVID-19 pandemic put citizens of their destinations and hospitality industry employees at increased risk of illness. 

In an increasingly globalized and digital world, physical travel is becoming less necessary for commerce, education, and communication. Is there still value in travel despite issues of sustainability and harm done by overtourism? Students in this section of Writing 160 will explore the definition of travel, the benefits and negative impacts of travel on the world, the inequities inherent in travel, and the ways travelers seek to mitigate those impacts. They will also inquire whether travel can be undertaken responsibly in the modern age. 

Course assignments will include: 

A travel narrative in which students compose a narrative essay about how their travel experiences and how those have informed their current views of travel.

A remediation of the travel narrative in a different modality (for example, a video or infographic).

A multi-modal critical reading of a text on the subject of travel that incorporates written text with visual elements.

A final multi-modal digital research paper that must incorporate photos, videos, or other media as evidence to support an argument about the role of travel in the world today. 

Course Requirements:

Come to class meetings prepared to engage in activities designed to promote multimodal composition skills. Complete 3-4 writing projects and develop awareness of your own writing processes. Engage in peer review and provide feedback to other students about their writing. Meet individually and in small groups with the instructor.

Writing 160 meets the First-Year-Writing Requirement.

Intended Audience:

Students who want to meet the first-year writing requirement with additional one-on-one support from the instructor. Students with an interest in writing in a range of modes and media.

Class Format:

A mix of discussion, interactive and hands-on writing activities, maker labs, drafting, peer review, and purposeful revision. 

You will also be meeting regularly with your instructor for personalized writing instruction. 

Writing 160 engages anti-racist teaching practices.