An Ethnography of the Backpacking Culture

Zusammenfassung
This volume provides a comprehensive, insider account of the global backpacking scene. It examines how backpacking has been constructed as a contemporary rite of passage, the influence that it has on young peoples' identities and life trajectories, and explores the ethical implications and ongoing effects of their travel practices.

Inhalt

Part 1: Pre-Departure

1. Introduction: Why Travel?

2. Travel and Transformation: Tourism in the Cultural-Consciousness

3. The Backpacker Imaginary

Part 2: Departure

4. Destination Anywhere: Travel, Freedom and the Search for an Authentic Self

5. Getting Experienced: Backpacker Tourism and the Hedonistic Impulse

6. Love from Afar: Interpersonal Relationships, Transience and Connection in the Travel Space

7. When Self and Other Collide: Constructing Cosmopolitan Identities

Part 3: Coming Home

8. Journey's End or Journey's Beginning?

9. Conclusion: Backpackers, At Home in the World?