SOC189 Sociology of Tourism

Faculty of Social Studies
Autumn 2008
Extent and Intensity
1/1. 6 credit(s). Recommended Type of Completion: zk (examination). Other types of completion: z (credit).
Teacher(s)
Ivan Chorvát (lecturer)
Guaranteed by
doc. PhDr. Ing. Radim Marada, Ph.D.
Department of Sociology – Faculty of Social Studies
Contact Person: Ing. Soňa Enenkelová
Timetable
Fri 24. 10. 8:30–15:40 Aula, Fri 14. 11. 8:30–15:40 Aula, Fri 28. 11. 8:30–15:40 exP21
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is also offered to the students of the fields other than those the course is directly associated with.
The capacity limit for the course is 60 student(s).
Current registration and enrolment status: enrolled: 0/60, only registered: 0/60, only registered with preference (fields directly associated with the programme): 0/60
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
there are 10 fields of study the course is directly associated with, display
Course objectives
The stress will be put on the study of tourism as a social and cultural phenomenon worthy of study, sui generis, which genesis and analysis may uncover something of conditions and consequences of modernity and enable us to understand also some other social phenomena as well as problems of the contemporary society. Students will be able to describe, explain, and understand the phenomenon of tourism, and offer theoretical insights that transcend the immediate concerns of the tourism industry (as tourism is usually studied in this part of the world within the sphere of tourism industry and its practical needs).
Syllabus
  • 1. Introduction to the course, its structure, characteristics, requirements. The Lost Art of Travel (D. Boorstin). The phenomenon of tourism and its importance for sociological analysis of the modern society.
  • 2. From the sociology of tourism (Erik Cohen, Dean MacCannell) to the tourist as a symbol of modernity (John Urry, Z. Bauman). Anthropological aspects of tourism (tourism as sacred journey, ritual – N. Graburn, tourism as a form of imperialism – D. Nash).
  • 3. Travel and tourism in the past I.: Travel in antiquity and in the middle ages. Foundations of modern tourism (16. - 19. centuries) - from Grand tours to the birth of tourism as a sociocultural phenomenon (spa resorts, railways, photogpraphy).
  • 4. Travel and tourism in the past II.: Modern tourism in the industrial society (the birth of the organized tourism, the democratization of the holiday). Travel and tourism in totalitarian regimes of the 20th century.
  • 5. Tourists: roles a typologies – dichotomy the traveller-the tourist, typologies of Smith, Cohen, Gray, Pearc, Plog. The mass tourist, the „good“ tourist, the post tourist.
  • 6. Tourist motivation – push and pull factors, extrinsic motivation (the tourism-work relationship, social influences, modern society and tourism motivation), intrinsic motivation (psychological motives).
  • 7. Tourism and authenticity. Boorstin – MacCannell discussion. „Emerging authenticity“, socially constructed authenticity, existential authenticity in tourism studies.
  • 8. The tourist-host relationship – characteristics of tourist-host encounters, principal contexts of tourist-host encounters, host perceptions of tourists, the tourist-resort life cycle.
  • 9. The socio-cultural impacts of tourism – factors of socio-cultural change, tourism as an element of socio-cultural change, social impacts of tourism, cultural impacts of tourism (tourism and acculturation, tourism and cultural dependency...).
  • 10. The McDonaldization of society and its manifestations in tourism – main characteristics of the McDonaldization process, the dimensions of McDonaldization (efficiency, calculation, predictability, control), the irrationality of rationality, McDonaldization in tourism (package tours, hotel chains, etc.).
Assessment methods
At the end of the course (consisting of lectures and seminar discussions) students submit written work/essay (10-15 pages) that is a reflection of the topic or the problem from the area of travel and/or tourism.
Language of instruction
Czech
Further Comments
Study Materials
The course is also listed under the following terms Autumn 2009, Autumn 2010, Autumn 2011, Autumn 2012.
  • Enrolment Statistics (Autumn 2008, recent)
  • Permalink: https://is.muni.cz/course/fss/autumn2008/SOC189