HIST 320/420 Travels to the “Third World”
This course focuses on diverse Western writings on the “third world” at various historical points from the beginning of the sixteenth century to the present. It treats such themes as the Old World’s encounters with the New World; conversion of the “pagan” population; Western tourism to the “exotic”; professional baseball players in and from the “third world,” and Orientalism. The course also examines specific written accounts, documentaries, and movies for the following questions. How does each traveler describe the “third world” and its people(s) in relation to him/herself? When and how did such key concepts as Old/New World, West/East (Occident/Orient), and First/Third World, emerge in the Western terminology? And how has the usage of each set of dichotomous concepts changed over time?