BlackBoard VLE

The purpose of the module is to explore and appreciate the contribution of the social sciences to comprehending current global tourism movements. Adopting a multidisciplinary approach the module will require students to examine the relationship between the `business¿ and `non-business' role of tourism in society. The module will further require students to adopt a critical stance to scrutinise the ways in which the social scientific disciplines inform the field of tourism studies / management. The overall impetus of the module is to locate the disciplines of anthropology, environmental studies, psychology and sociology to study people, populations and places engaging in the tourism system.

The module is divided into two segments: the first segment considers multidisciplinary theoretical and conceptual stances embedded in tourism: the anthropology and tourism, sociology and tourism, psychology and tourism, and environmental studies and tourism. The second segment focuses upon tourism perspectives and draws upon the multidisciplinary theories and concepts to study: the `worldmaking' role of tourism, mobilities and immobilities in tourism, the `Other' and tourism, and researching tourism.

Details: The students take part and make compulsory contributions to an asynchronous on-line discussion forum using BlackBoard VLE, which will be based upon current thinking and scholarship reading. The asynchronous event will run over a six week period and students will be expected to make three contributions of 500 words - totalling 1, 500 words (or equivalent). Assesses all learning outcomes.

Holden, A. (2006) Tourism Studies and the Social Sciences, London: Routledge
Hannam, K & Knox, D. (2010) Understanding Tourism: A Critical Introduction, London: Sage.
Jamal, T. & Robinson, R. (2009) The Sage Handbook of Tourism Studies, London: Sage

The learning strategy for this module is based around students committing a total of 150 hours of activities towards achieving the learning outcomes. These will be split between 39 hours of direct contact with a tutor and 111 hours of directed, guided and self-study, together with preparation for and completion of the assessment tasks. Learning support material will be provided for the module.
The module will draw upon a mixture of activities including lectures, web-based activities, case study analysis, relevant videos and in-class discussions, individual and group problem solving and self-directed learning.