Landscapes of Authenticity: Heritage, Tourism, and Conservation

3 credits · Undergraduate

(3 hrs Seminar/Discussion) Heritage, tourism, and conservation lie at the centre of current debates around authenticity. Heritage refers to personal history, belonging, and tradition, yet is also a commodity used and traded by governments, interest groups, and the emerging 'heritage industries.' Travel is considered authentic and genuine while cultural tourism is treated with derision. In museums and archives, curators and archivists decide what is conserved and what is discarded or forgotten; how exhibits are arranged and how they tell stories. Students in this course learn geographical approaches to these landscapes of authenticity and consider how the past is placed in the present. Requisite Courses: A minimum of 3 credit hours of 1000-level Geography courses or permission of the instructor or permission of the chair [prerequisite(s)].