Travel Writing, Geography and

Travel writing, by definition, is geographic. It narrates the experiences of observing places and moving through space and links travel with representation. A translation of what is seen into what is read, travel writing is of interest to geographers for its description and representation of different parts of the world. This entry discusses what constitutes travel writing, how human geographers have studied it, and what role travel writing has played in both the history of geography and the historical geographies of colonialism and imperialism. Although travel itself—whether long or short distance, temporary or permanent—is a nearly universal human experience, studies of travel writing have focused primarily on 18th- and 19th-century European and North American travelers, leaving much room for future work.

As a genre, travel writing ...