TL - Travel and Language: Art of the Letter Module Overview

Travel and Language: Art of the Letter

Introduction

Throughout this module on travel writing, you will be asked to consider and reflect upon the relationship between the purpose of a text and the devices which the author uses to achieve its style. First, you will read through a series of historical letters ranging from the colonial period to modern day. Here you will identify the elements of a letter including the purpose, audience, and text type. Next, you will analyze the evolution of the letter and its relationship with communicative new media. You will examine the descriptive elements of the letters and make inferences from the texts about the culture or region being discussed. Your final two assignments will be the creation of two documents, the first of which will be a memoir of a local attraction. For the second assignment, you will construct an advertisement containing an itinerary for a study abroad. Through all of your readings and assignments, keep in mind the strategic implementation of sensory modalities in travel writing. Bon voyage!

 

 

Essential Questions

  1. How has social writing evolved from letters to text messaging?
  2. What is lost, what is gained?
  3. How can you incorporate the freedom of informal writing (playfulness) in formal writing? (establish a voice)

Language

Language is at the heart of all of our experiences.

The adventure of travel intrigues us with the possibilities of new experiences. Stepping outside of the familiar has a real educational value. Thoughtful interaction with new places and cultures leads an increased self-awareness, possibly heightened independence, and hopefully an expanded cultural awareness. Unless the destination is England, the notion of learning about our English language may seem disconnected from travel. However, each time a traveler tells a friend, family member, or even a stranger about their trip, they are subconsciously making decisions rooted in language. New experiences employ all of our senses, thus when choosing which sensations to share one must consider the words that will relay that experience.

 

Flip through the scrapbook by clicking the arrow to the right of the image.

 

Key Terms

  1. Memoir: A narrative composed from personal experience.
  2. Epistolary: Of, relating to, or suitable to a letter.
  3. Setting: The time, place, and circumstances in which something occurs or develops.
  4. Atmosphere: The overall aesthetic effect of a work of art; an intriguing or singular tone, effect, or appeal.
  5. Voice: Distinction of form or a system of inflections of a verb to indicate the relation of the subject of the verb to the action which the verb expresses.
  6. Inference: The act or process of reaching a conclusion about something from known facts or evidence.
  7. Ethos: An appeal to the character of the individual and to values.
  8. Pathos: Appeal based on emotion.
  9. Logos: Appeal based on logic or reason.
  10. Advertisement: A public notice that is shown or presented to the public to help sell a product or to make an announcement.

 

RESOURCES IN THIS MODULE ARE OPEN EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES (OER) OR CREATED BY GAVS UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED. SOME IMAGES USED UNDER SUBSCRIPTION.