| CODE | TTC5007 | ||||||||||||
| TITLE | Traditions and the Tourism Product | ||||||||||||
| UM LEVEL | 05 - Postgraduate Modular Diploma or Degree Course | ||||||||||||
| MQF LEVEL | 7 | ||||||||||||
| ECTS CREDITS | 5 | ||||||||||||
| DEPARTMENT | Tourism Management | ||||||||||||
| DESCRIPTION | Often there are political and economic vested interests in how individuals and groups perceive themselves and how they are perceived by others. At stake are issues of identity, self-esteem, political loyalty, and the politics of patriotism. Which heritage and traditions are to be preserved and presented to the visitor? Whose account is to be disseminate? How neutral can libraries, museums, textbooks, and the interpretations of heritage sites be? The nature and political sensitivity of cultural heritage and ethnic identity force attention to basic issues concerning the nature and impact of information and its presentation to a public audience. This study-unit examines the way that past and contemporary societies have related to their tangible and intangible cultural heritage and traditions as we uncover the relationship between heritage, tradition and culture. This will in turn help one to understand how the touristic product which takes traditions as its focal point is set up, and what elements are included and why. Study-unit Aims: The aim of this study-unit is to introduce students to critical, theoretical approaches to key issues in the field of cultural tradition In the process, students will become familiar with the contested nature of cultural heritage theory and the critical examination of the application of different theoretical perspectives from which cultural tradition can be viewed. Case-study examples of tangible and intangible heritage – including sites and structures, movable cultural property, song, dance and diverse cultural forms, performances, technologies and practices - that have acquired cultural heritage value in the local and global context, are used as context for debates on how tradition is presented to the tourist. Learning Outcomes: 1. Knowledge & Understanding: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - Demonstrate an understanding of the interdisciplinary nature of cultural and heritage studies; - Comprehend traditions as a cultural construct; - Demonstrate familiarity with different accounts and definitions of cultural tradition in a global context. 2. Skills: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - Draw on written and non-written sources for the study of traditions and customs in a local, regional (Mediterranean/European) and global context; - Build research drawing on themes from the areas of study covered in this unit and applying it to other related themes. Main Text/s and any supplementary readings: - T. Benton, ed. Understanding Heritage and Memory (2010) - C. Cassar (2004) 'The cultural roots of Maltese identity: Christian myths and social memory in a Mediterranean frontier society, Studi sull’Oriente Cristiano, vol. 8, no. 1, pp. 101-130 - J. Fentress and C. Wickham (1992) Social Memory - E. Hobsbawm (repr. 2012) The Invention of Tradition. HM201.I55 - D. Lowenthal (1985) The Past is a Foreign Country (1985). D16.8. L682 - P. Sant Cassia, 'Tradition, Tourism and Memory in Malta', The Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute Vol. 5, No. 2 (Jun., 1999), pp.247-263. |
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| STUDY-UNIT TYPE | Lecture | ||||||||||||
| METHOD OF ASSESSMENT |
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| LECTURER/S | Noel Buttigieg George Cassar |
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The University makes every effort to ensure that the published Courses Plans, Programmes of Study and Study-Unit information are complete and up-to-date at the time of publication. The University reserves the right to make changes in case errors are detected after publication.
The availability of optional units may be subject to timetabling constraints. Units not attracting a sufficient number of registrations may be withdrawn without notice. It should be noted that all the information in the description above applies to study-units available during the academic year 2024/5. It may be subject to change in subsequent years. |
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