AFR 234 - Race, Gender, and Tourism

How did tourism come to be a defining characteristic of the Caribbean? Who benefits from tourism in the Caribbean and who is harmed by it? What can a study of tourism tells us about how race and gender are conceptualized in the Caribbean? This course examines the historical and contemporary representations of tourism in the Caribbean in literary, visual, and digital cultures with special attention to questions of race and gender. In its analysis of tourism, this course foregrounds Caribbean writers, scholars, and artists. Key points of discussion will include the political economy of the tourism industry, sex tourism, tourism’s impact on the environment, and alternative models of tourism produced in the region. Rather than view tourism as merely a leisure activity, the course prompts students to engage the cultural history of tourism and its meaning making power.

Satisfies Africana Studies major and minor requirement.
Satisfies Gender and Sexuality Studies major requirement.
Satisfies Literary Studies, Creative Writing, and Rhetoric requirement.
Satisfies Justice, Equality, and Community requirement.