Paper #1: The Etiquette of Travel

Philbrook Museum in Tulsa, OK

INTRO: Each of the essays we’ve read so far in The Best American Travel Writing 2019 has tried to demonstrate that behind every tourist destination is a culture, one that the tourists often don’t often see or understand. And the danger of misunderstanding a culture is not just remaining ignorant… it can cause actual harm to the people and the environment they live in. Or, as Alice Gregory writes in her essay “Finished,” “Etiquette is not something you learn for yourself…It’s something you do for others” (53). So what is the etiquette of travel? What do you owe the places you visit and the people you meet? And what do they give you in return?

PROMPT: For your first essay, I want you to give advice to someone planning to visit your favorite place in the world (it can be anywhere, any type of place). Why is this place special to you—what did it teach you? Likewise, how should they behave there to feel the same way? What is the ‘etiquette’ of this place, and why is it important to respect it and the people who either live/work there? What might be the danger of not understanding this—or not knowing why this place exists and is important to people? Again, try to help us understand your relationship to this place, maybe how you first came there, and what you learned about the etiquette of going there and being part of it.

EXAMPLE: One of my favorite places in the state is the Philbrook Art Museum in Tulsa. I’ve been there at least twenty times, sometimes spending half the day there. In my essay, I would explain what it was like to go there for the first time, why it became so special to me, and what I learned over the years about respecting the place and the other travelers and tourists who come there (as well as the people who work there). In my opinion, the better you understand the etiquette of the place, the more you’ll enjoy it yourself, and the more other people can enjoy their experience as well. But it’s not like Nashville—you can’t do things here you couldn’t do in your own hometown!

REQUIREMENTS:

• You must quote from at least one of the essays in class in your essay (much as I did in the Intro). Use the essay to introduce points, support your ideas, or offer a counterpoint to your own observations and beliefs. Make it something we can learn from, and not just a quote thrown in to fill space.
• Try to bounce off some of the ideas in the essays and the conversations we’ve had in class. Think about why this matters—and how it could help someone appreciate this place more than if they wander around blindly and ignorantly.
• The essay should be at least 3-4 pages, double spaced, but you can do more. That’s up to you.
• DUE Tuesday, September 15^th by 5pm for Tuesday classes
• DUE Thursday, September 17th by 5pm for Thursday classes
• NO CLASS that week, since I want you to work on your papers and turn them in on time!