Travel, Tourism, and Resorts

27^th ANNUAL CONFERENCE

OF THE NINETEENTH CENTURY STUDIES ASSOCIATION

Salisbury University, Salisbury, Maryland, March 16-18, 2006

Tourism and the rise of resorts reflect nineteenth-century economic, social, and cultural developments which brought about increased time for leisure, sport, entertainment, and vacation activities beyond prescribed hours of "work."  While both the nature of the Grand Tour (formally restricted to the wealthy) and desirable destinations for travel evolved over time, sport, leisure, and vacation activities also extended to various levels of society:  resort businesses boomed, exotic locales drew tourists, advances in transportation opened new destinations, and  tourism became an attractive and widespread diversion. Other travel, however, was inspired by the desire to map space, to explore new territories and gather species of plants or animals there, to engage in missionary work or to study other peoples, to flee famines, and to migrate to a new home.  Travel and tourism altered conceptions of home, nation, and progress as people adapted to (or even resisted) the demands and/or pleasures of their journeys and destinations. For our 27^th Annual Conference, NCSA encourages proposals that explore the meanings of travel, tourism, and resorts from a variety of disciplinary perspectives.  Possible topics include but are not limited to the following:

Travels through time and space

Travel of the mind/inward

Travel companions/solitary or group travelers

The laws of travel

Economies/Business of travel

Travel destinations--city/walking/boat tours

Tours/Travels with children

Mysterious, quiet, indiscreet travelers

Traveling spectacles

Traveling secrets

Journeys East or West/home or abroad

The Middle Passage

Means/Modes of Travel

Travel innovations and progress

Traveling artists, preachers, teachers, & librarians

The distance we've traveled

Migration, immigration, emigration

Getaways and hideaways 

Resort architecture; architecture of sport & leisure 

Architectural sites as travel destination

Representation of travel in art & literature

Representation of sport and leisure in art/lit

Papers may come from the fields of architecture, art history, ethnic or race studies, history, literature, medicine, museum or library studies, music, or the social sciences.  NCSA was founded to promote interdisciplinarity; proposals which approach the theme of the conference from an interdisciplinary basis are especially encouraged.    

The conference will be held in Salisbury, on Maryland’s Eastern shore, within thirty minutes of the Chesapeake Bay to the west and the Atlantic Ocean to the east.  Plans to tour 19^th century sites in Berlin, MD, and the summer resort of Ocean City, MD (founded 1875), are in development.  Direct flights serve Salisbury from Charlotte, NC and Philadelphia, PA.

Proposals should consist of a one-page, single-spaced abstract (12-point font), with the title of the paper and author as heading; the paper must be able to be presented within 20 minutes.  Proposals should be accompanied by a one- to two-page vita.  Please send materials to both Program Directors, Heidi Kaufman and Lucy Morrison. The submission deadline is October 14, 2005.  Acceptances will be sent by mid-December, 2005. 

Email: kaufman@udel.edu and lxmorrison@salisbury.edu

Post: Heidi Kaufman, 212 Memorial Hall, University of Delaware, Newark, DE 19716

Lucy Morrison, English Dept., Salisbury University, 1101 Camden Ave., Salisbury, MD 21801

Fax:     Kaufman 302-831-1586 / Morrison 410-548-2142