SPACES AND EXCHANGES

Introduction

We are going to talk about the notion of «spaces and exchanges»

This year, we studied several documents to illustrate and discuss this notion, and I will refer to them to develop my ideas.

First of all, let’s define this notion:

The notion of «Spaces and exchanges» refers to the world, countries, borders that we cross or not, real locations, but also virtual spaces. This is the world we live in, the worlds we are to discover or conquer, the worlds we create, or maybe those we destroy.

I am going to focus on the idea of travelling. Why do people travel, for what reasons and for what purpose? What are they looking for? What are they trying to escape from?

NOTION / DOMAINE CULTUREL / PROBLEMATIQUE / DOCUMENTS / CP / RESUME
Space and exchanges / Travelling / How far does travelling really broaden your horizons? / 1)Gap year: presentation (build up Broadways p 12,13) / CE
PO / Two short documents to present two types of Gap Years sold by two companies: Gap and Peakleaders.
2)Videos “the leap” and “peakleaders” / CO
PO / Reports about young people during their gap years, interviews and information.
3)Globetrotters
Backpackers
ELLLO / CO
PPC / Young travelers speak about their experience of travelling.
4)Are you experienced? W Sutcliffe / CE
PO / In India, on a train, a journalist accuses the narrator of having no real interest in the people and the country he is “visiting”
Document iconographique MP Tle p 154 (Banksy: feed the world) / PPC
POI / A poor sad-looking child is pulling a rickshaw with two smiling, overweight American tourists.

1)Tourism

When we think of the world «travelling», we immediately imagine «visiting the world», as a tourist, we cross borders to see the world, to discover other countries and cultures, to see monuments, famous landscapes and cities, other ways of life. For example, you go to the USA to see the big cities like New York, Los Angeles… or landscapes like the Grand Canyon. You have seen them on TV or in books and you want to see them for real, because you are fascinated and attracted by them.

Today, thanks to modern means of transports, it seems to be easy to take a plane and cross the Atlantic Ocean. This is a link with the notion of progress thatwe can also discuss. However, we cannot deny the fact that travelling is expensive and not everybody can afford it. Moreover, I wonder if tourists are always eager to discover the country where they are spending their holiday. Indeed, I think a lot of them are only looking for some relaxing time on the beach in a sunny place, and show no real interest in the culture of this country.

(voyeurism?)

2)Expeditions to discover the world

Travelling is also discovering new places. Men have always been looking for new places, new territories, new worlds. Christopher Columbus, among other navigators, discovered a new continent, America. Famous astronauts walked on the moon, like Neil Armtrong, the pioneer who was the first to do it. These explorers are seen as heroes who risked their lives to cross borders and discover new worlds. We can also mention Lewis and Clark whose expedition between 1804 and 1806 permitted the advance of science and a better knowledge of the American territory that was wanted by the American president Thomas Jefferson. Thomas Cook, a British explorer and navigator, was the first European to reach Australia and New Zealand.

Thanks to these people, the world was better-known, better understood, and hopefully better respected. New spaces were conquered, new exchanges were possible. The development of trade was made possible by a better knowledge of the world.

(Colonization? Trade/fair trade?...)

3)Gap years

Nowadays, more and more Anglo-Saxon students decide to go on a Gap Year. What is a gap-year? It is an interval between school and university when young people go abroad and spend that time learning, getting new skills or helping communities. This gives them experience and broadens their horizons. According to Guy Whitehead, in the video presentation of his organization «The Leap», a gap-year prepares young people for their future job, they have responsibilities, they show they can take initiative; they get to know other civilizations and will be more open-minded in their future life.

However, in his novel «Are you experienced?», the English author William Sutcliffe makes fun of the young David who is having a gap year in India. In an extract we studied in class, a journalist blames Dave for showing no real interest in India; he accuses him of being contemptuous. In this text, we came to question the real purpose of a gap year: does it come with a real interest in the country and its problems, or is it only a poverty-tourism adventure holiday aimed at adding something on a CV?

As far as I am concerned, I would (not) like to go on a gap year because…/I would go to…/ I would …

4)Immigration

To finish, travelling is not always a choice, it is sometimes a difficult decision when you cannot stay in your native country for political or economic reasons. I think a lot of people emigrated for these reasons. Some from Europe to the USA (from Ireland to the USA, because of the “potato crisis”, bad crops and starvation) in the 1840’s), others from Mexico to the USA (illegal immigration…) and even as it is described in “The Grapes of Wrath”, a novel written by Steinbeck, farmers who left their farms during the Great Depression and took the “Route 66” to go to California to find a better environment and start a new life.

This reference to immigration leads us to mention the American Dream, and its influence on millions of immigrants who thought they would find liberty and justice for all in America. We can link this notion to that of “myths and heroes”, wondering if this dream was actually a possibility or a myth.

Conclusion:

To conclude, I believe that travelling often broadens our horizons. Crossing a border, being curious about a different culture, discovering other civilizations…all this cannot but makes us better. We tend to be more tolerant and open-minded when we know about the others, and travelling goes with being curious and respectful.

However, we cannot deny that “crossing borders” does not always mean “exchanging”, it can be a conquest, an act of domination…

Be ready to answer questions about:

-Countries you’d like to visit

-Travelling and tourism in the third world

-Tourism as an economic asset for a country (Think of Mandela’s speech in your DS)

-Globalization

-Fair trade

-Immigration

-The American Dream

-Colonial England

-The triangular trade (Europe, Africa and America)