HIST 140 Travel and Tourism in Latin America
Many North Americans first experience Latin America through tourism and travel, whether during a boisterous spring break trip to Cancun, a forbidden visit to Havana, or an adventurous trek to the heights of Machu Picchu. This course will examine the long history of travel and tourism in Latin America, in order to understand the ways that the region has been shaped by encounters, interactions, and conflicts between travelers/"outsiders" and Latin Americans. Covering the period between the arrival of Columbus in 1492 and the present day, we will examine and analyze narrative accounts, maps, photographs, paintings, travel posters, and films in order to look at the ways that travelers experienced and described the racial, cultural, and political complexities of the region. We will also assess the costs and opportunities created by travel and tourism in the region, particularly in the latter half of the course, when we will discuss how modern Latin American governments created a tourist industry that continues to export an exotic and commercialized vision of the region for popular consumption. This course counts as a foundational course in History or Political Theory within the liberal arts core requirements.