GEO-30306 Leisure, Tourism and Environment: Concepts and Approaches

Course

Credits 6.00

Language of instruction:

English

Assumed knowledge on:

Introduction Leisure, Tourism and Environment (GEO-10806).

Continuation courses:

Leisure, Tourism and Environment: Experiences and Environments (GEO-32306); Leisure, Tourism and Globalisation (GEO-31306); Leisure, Tourism and Environment: Sustainable Development (GEO-31806).

Contents:

This course provides an overview of social science approaches that inform theory and practice in the academic study of leisure and tourism. The course critically examines key social and philosophical issues that actively shape the production of (leisure and tourism) knowledge by looking at a range of epistemological perspectives and their influence on this field of study.

Learning outcomes:

After successful completion of this course students are expected to be able to:
- discuss the development of leisure and tourism as a field of study;
- describe and analyse different philosophies, paradigms and political theories that influence contemporary society, with special attention to leisure, tourism and environment;
- describe and critically analyse different paradigmatic and disciplinary approaches to the ways in which we seek and produce knowledge in leisure and tourism studies;
- classify and order specific persons, places, events, philosophies and political theories from history which have influenced the development and establishment of the field of leisure and tourism studies;
- classify and critically evaluate written academic literature from the field of leisure and tourism studies on the basis of authors' different research approaches, disciplines and paradigms;
- bring together information from different approaches, disciplines and cultures in order to analyse a specific subject or problem in the field of leisure and tourism studies in an essay;
- reflect on their own positionality which shapes their personal and scientific gazes;
- discuss issues and ethics of leisure, tourism and environment in class.

Activities:

- lectures covering course themes;
- required reading;
- reflective positionality essay;
- group preparation of weekly course summaries;
- in-class group discussions;
- essay identifying and evaluating academic contributions in the field of leisure and tourism studies that represent different approaches used in the social sciences;
- final exam covering key concepts and approaches addressed throughout the course lectures and readings.

Examination:

- weekly article analyses (20%);
- essay (45%);
- exam (35%).
An average mark of 5.5 or higher for each component constitutes a pass.

Literature:

Course outline and required readings are abailable on Blackboard.