Background While much of the theory surrounding tourism is distinctly 20th century, tourism not entirely a modern or postmodern phenomenon. Today the word “tour” perhaps invokes a stuffy, rehearsed, and controlled travel experience, but tours also describe modes of travel such as pilgrimages, military assignments and excursions, and expeditions undertaken by the likes of Don […]
Reconciling the Colonial History of the Western United States through Environmental Literatures: The Application of Postcolonial and Ecocritical Theories to the Literature of the American West
Background The relationship between literature and concepts of nature is a far reaching one. From the hierarchical relationship Adam naming animals around him found in Genesis, the conceptions of the wilderness in Exodus (Cronon 1995), to the pastoral poetry of the English Renaissance that romanticizes rural life, concepts of nature have long been rendered in […]
Naming the Wilderness: Values and Histories of Toponyms of Wilderness Areas in the United States
Background Why do humans name? Humans assign names to nearly everything: people, professions, places, items, ideas. It is a fundamental act to name and we often take names and labels for granted. Theorists such as Jacques Derrida have spent countless hours delving into the politics, ethics, and nuances of language contained in the act of […]
Final Reflections
After attempted to write my own better big words on the word “theory,” I feel rather discombobulated. I don’t know how successful I was at all. First, I feel as if I wasn’t original. As I researched more and more about theories on theory, I realized that everything I had been thinking has already been […]
Definitions of Big Words
In my quest for better big words, I am interested in the following: theory, justice, compassion, and of course, environment. I turn to the Oxford English Dictionary for help in defining these giant words to begin the process of thinking through them Theory: The conceptual basis of a subject or area of study. Contrasted with practice. […]