Travel takes us out of our class context
“Not only does a journey transport us over enormous distances, it also causes us to move a few degrees up or down in the social scale. It displaces us physically and also — for better or worse — takes us out of our class context, so that the color and flavor of certain places cannot de dissociated from the always unexpected social level on which we find ourselves in experiencing them.”
–Claude Levi-Strauss, Tristes Tropiques (1955)
August 25th, 2008 at 8:06 am
ONE’S-SELF I sing, a simple separate person, Yet utter the word Democratic, the word En-Masse. Of physiology from top to toe I sing, Not physiognomy alone nor brain alone is worthy for the Muse, I say the Form complete is worthier far, The Female equally with the Male I sing. Of Life immense in passion, pulse, and power, Cheerful for freest action form’d under the laws divine, The Modern Man I sing. –Walt Witman, Leaves of Grass (1855)
September 4th, 2008 at 9:13 pm
I completely disagree that travel takes you out of your class context. It depends.
Having traveled for almost five years on my own (and periodically with my family when I was younger), I have noticed that you can do traveling the posh way: if you’re a rich American or Westerner, you can take the packaged tours, hang out with your ‘own kind’, and stay in five star hotels– all because your money allows you to. Some of these folks rarely try to learn a bit of the local language, are incredulously oblivious or ignorant about current events there, history, etc, and would rather treat the place they are visiting as a playground.
Not say all rugged backpackers are the opposite, but I definitely think that your class from your home country often shapes the way you travel.
September 13th, 2008 at 2:05 am
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