The Art of the Travel Essay
EGL 145, Winter 2007
Jonah Willihnganz
Stanford University

Through travel I first became aware of the outside world; and it was through travel that I found my own introspective way into becoming a part of it.
                                                   —Eudora Welty

Course Schedule

Please note that we will frequently not be able to discuss all of our readings. We will generally examine those listed first, so if you are pressed for time prioritize accordingly. Please also take note that the Essays are due via email on Fridays.

 
Mon. Jan. 8

Introduction

Pico Iyer, “Introduction”
Joan Didion, "History Lesson"

 

Mon. Jan. 22

 

Exploring Genre, Structure, and Technique

Michael Byers, “Monuments to Our Better Nature”
Michael Gorra, “Innocents Abroad?”
Richie Chevat “The Screenwriter’s Vacation”

 

Mon. Jan. 29

 

Exploring Genre, Structure, and Technique

Dave Eggers, “Hitchhiker’s Cuba”
Devin Friedman, “Forty Years in Acapulco”
E.B. White, “Once More to the Lake”
Adam Gopnik, “The People on the Bus”

 

Fri. Feb. 2

Mon. Feb. 5

 

Essay 1 Due—Send via email to me and your workshop group

Group Workshop of Essay 1


Tom Haines, “Facing Famine”
Bill Bryson, "Rome"
Paul Theroux, “New Zealand: Land of the Long White Cloud”

 

Fri. Feb. 9

Mon. Feb. 12

 

Essay 2 Due for Group 1 via email to me and the class

Workshop Group 1

Tim Cahill, “The Accidental Explorer’s Guide to Patagonia”
David Sedaris, “The Man Upstairs”
Marissa Lopez, “A River Runs Through Me”

 

Fri. Feb. 16

Mon. Feb. 19

 

Essay 2 Due for Group 2 via email to me and the class

Workshop Group 2

Patrick Symmes, "The Kabul Express"
Edward Hoagland, “Everybody Comes to Belize”

 

Fri. Feb. 23

Mon. Feb. 26

 

 

Essay 2 Due for Group 2 via email to me and the class

Workshop of Group 3

Pico Iyer, “Where Worlds Collide”
Jan Morris, “The Know-How City”

 

Fri. Mar. 2

Mon. Mar. 19

 

 

Essay 2 Due for Group 3 via email to me and the class

Workshop of Group 4

Bill McKibbin, "Small World"
JohnMcPhee, "A Fleet of One"

 

Fri. Mar. 16

Mon. Mar. 26

 

 

Essay 2 Due for Group 5 via email to me and the class

Workshop of Group 5

George Saunders, "The New Mecca"
Rolf Potts, "Tantric Sex for Dilettantes"
Calvin Trillin, "Speaking of Soup"

 

 

  

Fri. Apr. 6

Revisions of Essay 2 Due
You drop revisions at my office or mail them to me at:

Jonah Willihnganz
Stanford Humanities Center
125 Santa Teresa St.
Stanford University
Stanford, CA 94035