The Caribbean: An Examination of Tourism on the Ground - applications due 12/01/09
AAS/SOC/WGS 400/600: The Caribbean: An Examination of Tourism on the Ground (1 credits) May 2010
This course is designed to educate you about the costs (human, capital and environmental) of tourism to Caribbean nation-states. Through an examination of the integral relationship of sex work to Caribbean tourism, you learn of the region’s economic, cultural, and political development that has resulted in its current configuration as a dependent social formation in advanced capitalism.
For many decades most North Americans have viewed the Caribbean as a sort of “paradise” for tourists, a place where one can escape the harsh winters of the North to experience “sun, sea, and fun.” Tourism is said to be the main engine of economic growth in the region. What is less well known or talked about, however, is the role of women’s labor in tourism, and specifically, women’s sexual labor. Getting students to develop a critical understanding of this phenomenon is one of the primary goals of this course.
In the SU portion of the course, you begin by locating the Caribbean in the global capitalist economy in an attempt to understand its (contribution to) role in the accumulation of international finance capital by transnational corporations. Next, you examine the tourism industry and its domination by finance capital and study the impact of this on the entire Caribbean region. Finally, you examine women’s participation in the labor force, generally, and in the tourism sector specifically, and try to understand the ideological and material conditions that force women into sex work for survival. The integral nature of sex work to tourism should be absolutely clear by the end of the course. At the end of the spring semester, specifically on May 15th, you will travel to Jamaica to continue your education and to experience a primary case study of what this course would have taught you.
Class size will be limited to 15. Preference given to students who are enrolled or have been enrolled in ASS/SOC/WGS 445/645. Also open to students with a Junior standing or higher who have taken a Women’s and Gender Studies course, African American Studies course or a Sociology course.
FACULTY: Linda Carty is Associate Professor, Department of African American Studies at Syracuse University. Her research and teaching interests include Gender Discourses in African Diaspora Studies; Neocolonialism, Imperialism and Caribbean Studies; Black Women's Labor in the Americas; Migration and Diasporic Identities; and Race and Transnational Feminism.
COSTS
Tuition for the course will be covered as part of regular fall undergraduate semester tuition as long as you do not exceed 19 credits. Graduate students will be charged per credit for the course. The cost for the winter break component of the course is approximately $2,000-$2,500, which includes round trip transportation from New York City to Kingston, transportation to Negril, housing in Kingston and Negril, some group dinners, and entrance fees. It also includes all activities and services for which a separate fee is not charged. The final fee will be set once airfare and other expenses have been confirmed.
APPLICATION, SELECTION & PAYMENT PROCEDURES
Students will be expected to submit the special application and a $60 non-refundable application fee to SU Abroad by November 23, 2009. All applications will be reviewed by an admissions committee made up of Professor Carty and a SU Abroad representative. Students will be notified of their acceptance by November 30th. Upon acceptance, $450 non-refundable deposit is required to confirm your participation in the program. This is due within 10 days of notification. Final payment will be due January 15, 2010.