European Travel Research Articles

The Medieval Invention of Travel by Shayne Aaron Legassie

Reviewed by: The Medieval Invention of Travel by Shayne Aaron Legassie Anna Wilson shayne aaron legassie, The Medieval Invention of Travel. Chicago and London: The University of Chicago Press, 2017. Pp. xiii, 302. isbn: 978–0–226–44662–2. $34.95. This ambitious book surveys western European travel literature from the thirteenth to fifteenth centuries, tracing the emergence in the medieval period of several styles, themes, and ethics of travel that would shape subsequent travel literatures until the industrial revolution. Legassie makes an argument for a distinct medieval genre of travel literature that includes two mutually influential strands: accounts of pilgrimages to the Holy Land, and of journeys to the far east for missionary purposes or trade. The methodology is primarily literary-critical, but there is a strong book history element throughout, wherein Legassie highlights specific material instances of works [End Page 115] in order to enhance close readings or to discuss the circulation and use of ideas about travel. The story this book tells is broadly one of historical development of the travel literature genre prior to its oft-presumed emergence with the early modern European colonial expansions; however, Legassie avoids a teleological narrative in favor of a 'rhizomatic' survey, making the important but frequently overlooked point that 'developments accrete and—at times—coexist unharmoniously' in this as in so many literary genres (p. 143). As such, the study is divided into three parts linked by theme rather than location in time or space. Part one focuses on constructions of narrative authority. Chapter one traces the differing approaches to the 'prestige economy of long-distance knowledge' (p. 22)—a concept Legassie develops in conversation with anthropologist Mary Helms' 'long-distance specialist'—in Marco Polo's Divisament dou monde and William of Rubruck's Itinerarium. Chapter two argues for an increasing emphasis on the labor and physical trials of travel by authors who apparently feared that their narratives might strain the credulity of their medieval readers; texts discussed here include John of Plano Carpini's Historia Mongolorum, Odoric of Pordenone's Relatio, and The Book of John Mandeville. Part two is a valuable and extensive survey of medieval pilgrimage literature, including clerical- and non-clerical narratives, Jerusalem Inventories, and logs or diaries. In chapter four, Legassie argues that these texts attest to a sophisticated mnemonic praxis—he draws heavily on Carruthers' classic studies on memory—through which pilgrimage becomes 'literate labor.' In what Legassie names 'the synthetic tradition' of (largely clerical) pilgrimage accounts, the composition of the text is part of the devotional work of pilgrimage, accomplished through 'memory work' before, during, and after the journey. The readings of these texts complement, but would benefit from greater engagement with, recent scholarship on 'virtual travel' or pilgrimage meditation by scholars such as Anthony Bale and Kathryn Rudy. Chapter five tackles the role of empirical observation in pilgrimage literature, tracing the rise in interest in writers' investigative methods for determining the history of places and objects in the Holy Land, and the rise of the 'Mediterranean turn' wherein places on the way to the Holy Land and the journey itself become subjects of scrutiny. Part three enters into the divergent styles of travel emerging post-1300, with a chapter on Petrarch and a chapter on Pero Tafur. Legassie's reading of Petrarch's travel letters in Familiares I–V and his Itinerarium reveals Petrarch's careful curation of a narrative arc that encompasses his change from an optimistic to jaded attitude to the ethical value of travel, corresponding to his changing political attitudes to Italian nationalism, and to his rejection of vernacular poetical modes for Latin epic. Legassie's intriguing approach to Petrarch's epistolary work as 'diasporic' rather than 'exilic' makes this a valuable addition to scholarship on Petrarch's relatively understudied travel letters. Chapter seven brings to the fore a theme which has run through much of the other travel literature Legassie discusses: concern with the ethics of travel. In Pero Tafur's fifteenth-century travel narrative, this concern is played out in the tension between the text's need to present Muslim lands as hostile territories in order to enhance the dramatic daring of its hero, and its investment...

New Directions in Travel Writing Studies eds. by Julia Kuehn and Paul Smethurst

Reviewed by: New Directions in Travel Writing Studies eds. by Julia Kuehn and Paul Smethurst Leilei Chen (bio) Julia Kuehn and Paul Smethurst, editors. New Directions in Travel Writing Studies. Palgrave, 2015. Pp. xiii, 325. US $109.99. Travel literature studies gained scholarly interest after the publication of Edward Said's Orientalism in 1978 and has since witnessed various critical approaches, including postcolonialist readings that critique the genre's imperialist ideology; attention to region-, time-, and author-specific narratives; and focuses on tourism, gender, and postmodern travel. The eighteen essays in New Directions in Travel Writing Studies, edited by Julie Kuehn and Paul Smethurst, represent the major critical methodologies applied to the genre and aim to "augmen[t] and complemen[t]" what is already available in the field (Kuehn and Smethurst 2). The book develops travel writing studies within the emerging field of geo-humanities through its "particular focus on the spatio-linguistic properties" of the genre (3). Part I, "Textuality," contains three essays that examine "the semiotics of travel"—the language travel writers employ (5). One essay compares the original and revised versions of the same text; one analyzes the often underestimated importance of language in tourists' cross-cultural accounts; and the third investigates the paratexts—titles, prefaces, footnotes, images, and epigraphs—of travel books to lay bare the complexity and instability of the genre. Michael Cronin's study of travel, language, and translation would be a valuable addition here because translation is at stake in cross-cultural contacts: he proposes to examine the traces of intralingual, interlingual, and intersemiotic translation in travel writing (Cronin 3). Part II, "Topology," explores the concept of the "geocritical imagination" and includes three essays that place geographical environments at the centre of reading travel literature (Kuehn and Smethurst 6). This approach showcases the contradictions that can exist between a traveller's original sense of a place and his/her response to it while travelling there and questions the truthfulness of travel writing, seen in such scholarship as Nicholas Clifford's "A Truthful Impression of the Country." Charles Forsdick's essay in Part III, "Mobility," is particularly strong. It questions travel writing's excessive dependence on the visual and attends instead to texts produced by visually impaired travellers. This approach to the travel genre builds on David Spurr's critique of the excessive reliance on visibility articulated in The Rhetoric of Empire. Part IV, "Mapping," contains essays that examine the political, ideological, and commercial implications of either scientifically or imaginatively constructed maps and forms another dimension of the book's geohumanities focus. [End Page 284] Part V, "Alterity," examines representations of otherness in travel literature. Wendy Bracewell's essay focuses on texts produced by "travellees," or writers from within the countries that European travel writers visit. She admits that the term "travellees"—borrowed from Mary Louise Pratt—is "slightly awkward," yet Bracewell's approach does not reinforce the self/other binary that the term seems to suggest (Kuehn and Smethurst 216). I find it intriguing that her approach stages a cross-cultural dialogue and gives voice to the subject of the traveller. This voice is meaningful not only because it questions the authority of the traveller's report on the foreign country but also because it materializes his or her moments of critical self-reflection. For example, the eighteenth-century French travel writer Fleuriot de Langle's depictions of Spain are understood by the Spaniards as "sarcastic," "flippant," and inaccurate (221); the Spanish man-of-letters Antonio Ponz acknowledges that, although erroneous, foreign travellers' accounts of the country in the 1780s set a "most efficacious alarm to make us take account" (qtd. in Kuehn and Smethurst 221). He values the self-reflections elicited by the cross-cultural narratives. Bracewell suggests that putting the individual and the collective "I" in brackets and taking the others' perspectives into account make travel conceptually productive. The volume ends with "Globality," a critical perspective that investigates the utopian dimension of travel writing and studies the forms of cosmopolitanism represented in the genre. In addition to the geohumanities approaches to travel writing, the essays included in this volume pertain to Japan, China, Mexico, Hong Kong, the Pacific, and Africa, and...

THE PORTRAYAL OF INDIAN BACKDROP IN RUDYARD KIPLING’S KIM: A DIASPORIC PERSPECTIVE

The diasporic literature helps us in understanding various cultures in a broader perspective. Indian Diasporic writing seems a very significant set-up linking the entire world. The Indian Diaspora has attempted to bring astonishing realities located in the Indian rural culture. The European travelers and the orientalists have revitalized the varied culture of India and enriched the English literature through their literary work. Rudyard Kipling lived in India for some years, hence was fully acquainted with the people and entire way of life in India. Kim (1901) by Rudyard Kipling, is a remarkable novel which portrays diverse religions of India, its people and culture. The novel represents a multicolored picture of India viewing its indigenous spirit. It focuses on a life of Kim, a boy of Irish descent, who is orphaned and grows up as a native Indian. Taking into consideration the various facets of the novel, it seems that Kipling generates the realistic portrayal of Indian life. He very honestly depicts the indigenous spirit of Indian backdrop through this novel. This beautiful land itself remains the theme of novel.

Travel medicine for divers.

Recreational diving is increasing in popularity globally, also among European travellers. Since a majority of popular diving sites are located in tropical or subtropical destinations commonly characterised by harsh climate and poor sanitation, travellers planning to engage in recreational diving are recommended to take certain health prevention measures to reduce travel-associated health risks. They need to be aware of the fact that diving can threaten their lives or even be fatal; however, if they are well prepared physically and mentally and follow all the recommended safety rules while underwater, diving is an unforgettable experience that cannot be compared to any other sports activity performed on land. Before going on a diving trip, it is important to make the necessary arrangements, bearing in mind they should not only concentrate on diving-related activities (the marine environment) but also on other aspects, e.g. contact with terrestrial flora and fauna. Therefore, the health prevention measures (a pre-travel consultation, vaccinations, antimalarial chemoprophylaxis, a properly prepared travel health kit and travel insurance) are to keep a traveller healthy during the entire travel and not just the moments of going underwater. The most important of the pre-travel arrangements include pre-travel medical evaluation, selecting and preparing medications for chronic conditions and assembling the first aid kit for personal use. Travellers are recommended to have a pre-travel consultation in medical facilities whose personnel have an appropriate level of knowledge and expertise on hyperbaric, tropical and travel medicine.

Domorodé národy Floridy podľa stredoeurópskych cestopisov zo 16. storočia

Správy prvých Európanov, ktorí sa stretli v 16. storočí s pôvodnými americkými kultúrami podliehali viacnásobnej štylizácii. Na jednej strane, to bolo presvedčenie o univerzálnom stavovskom type kultúry s kráľom, šľachtou a poddanými, ako to poznali z Európy. Zároveň to bolo doplnené predstavami o krvilačných divochoch a kanibaloch, nemajúcich plný status ľudskosti.Jacquesovi Le Moyne de Morgues a Theodorovi de Bry slúži ku cti, že sa v cestopisoch o objavovaní Floridy snažili podať čo najobjektívnejší pohľad na tamojšiu indiánsku kultúru v textovej i obrazovej časti. Ani výber ilustrácií v knihe nie je sústredený iba na oblasť extrémnych javov v kultúrnom konflikte medzi európskou civilizáciou a domorodcami. Časť medirytín je zameraných na zobrazenie každodenného života - spôsob lovu, prípravy potravy, liečenia chorých, obrábanie pôdy.Pre čitateľa 16. storočia patrila k najdôležitejším témam otázka, akým svetom vôbec sú novoobjavené krajiny, či bytosti, ktoré ho obývajú sú ľudia, alebo nejaké monštrá. Druhou najdôležitejšou otázkou bol spôsob viery divochov, ich náboženské rituály, a to, či sú schopní prijať vieru v Boha, a na treťom mieste spôsob ich každodenného života. Odpovede na tieto otázky nám prinášajú spoločne Jacques le Moyne a Theodore de Bry. Zároveň je možné, prostredníctvom tohto diela skúmať, podľa čoho si vytvárali a formovali svoj pohľad na zámorské kultúry obyvatelia strednej Európy v ranom novoveku.

Business Model in Air Transport: Evolution of Innovation Concept

With the advent of the knowledge society, new opportunities, business models and concepts have emerged in most industrial sectors and in particular in the transport sector. The European air travel market, dominated by airlines, influenced to varying degrees from their countries of origin, has been, since the early nineties, completely revolutionized by the entrance in the competitive arena of several small companies, which, in accordance with the principles of „disruptive innovation‟, have completely changed the field of passenger transport. To understand how this was possible, it is necessary to investigate, just with the help of these new tools of Strategic Management as the business models, about the way in which these airlines are able to generate their business and create value. This work aims to analyse the close relationship between innovation of product / service and corporate business model in order to understand the dynamics of the relationship. Various contributions from literature showed how the concept of innovation within the company has evolved over the years and what were the approaches used to study it. This analysis begins with the study of the contributions of Schumpeter, the first economist to write about innovation and author of the dynamic development model and creator of the first distinction between innovation and invention. His theories have made a major contribution in this area, but none the less were also constructively criticized by other economists such as Freeman, who introduced the concept of incremental innovation and analysed the factors triggering innovation. Albernathy and Clark then added another fundamental element of analysis: the competitive environment. They studied the influence of innovation on those factors that are considered essential to achieve a competitive advantage. The same Albernathy, with Utterback, then studied the dynamics of innovations over time. Each of the cited authors analysed the phenomenon of innovation in a different light and all of their contributions allows for a broad and comprehensive concept. The picture is completed by adding the recent contributions of Christensen, who has taken up and deepened the concepts of "sustaining innovation" and " disruptive innovation" and, especially, began to highlight how essential it is that innovation is supported by a suitable business model. In this regard, he has shown that even the same business model can be object of innovation and that this type of innovation is one of the main drivers of the creation of competitive advantage.

Klingers „Faust“ und der russische Leviathan: Der Roman und die Machtverhältnisse in Russland unter Katharina II.

Summary The article suggests a hypothesis in the light of which an attempt is made to consider the novel of F. M. Klinger Faust’s Leben, Thaten und Hoellenfahrt (1791) as a representation of power relations in Russia under Catherine II. This novel illustrates the ideological position of Klinger, who for many years has observed with his own eyes cultural and political situation in Russia in the late 18th century, when Catherine II was praised as an enlightened reformer. However, the enlightened ideology of Catherine II was often a despotic autocracy in social life and “enslavement” in everyday life. To represent the space of ideological confrontation, Klinger used the “devilish” perspective from the Faust legend as a satirical technique. The fictive place of publication (“Petersburg”) on the front page of the Faust-novel initiates a chain of associations: “enlightened” Russia appears before the enlightened readers as an illusion, a “leviathanischer Schein” (a word, frequently used in the novel), an invention of European philosophers and travelers. Klinger combines religious and philosophical connotations of the figure of Leviathan, who acquires the features of Gregory Potemkin. Leviathan becomes therefore a symbol of the power relations under Catherine II and a satirical representation of the ideological “monstrosity” of the Russian Enlightenment.

No effect of comorbidities on the association between social deprivation and geographical access to the reference care center in the management of colon cancer

BackgoundPatients with colon cancer in France exhibit one of the steepest socioeconomic survival gradients in Europe. Among the putative causes for this situation, comorbidities are frequently incriminated but evidence of this is lacking. AimsMeasure the influence of social deprivation and geographical access to the reference care center for the management of colon cancer, and the putative role of associated comorbidities. Materials and methodsThe study population comprised all 1383 resected colon cancer cases diagnosed between 2005 and 2010 in the area covered by the “Calvados Registry of Digestive Tumors”. Social environment was assessed by using the European Deprivation Index and travel time to the reference care center and comorbidities by using Charlson’s comorbidity index. ResultsOur results confirm the existence of socioeconomic or geographical inequalities at each step of colon cancer management, but without any role of associated comorbidities. The effect of deprivation is mainly explained by age at diagnosis, while travel time to the reference care center is an independent predictor of cancer management. ConclusionWe found no effect of comorbidities on the association between socioeconomic factors and the management of colon cancer in this French department.

Calundu's Winds of Divination: Music and Black Religiosity in Eighteenth and Nineteenth-Century Minas Gerais, Brazil

Calundu was an African-derived religious practice known in colonial Brazil, most widely recognized in Minas Gerais during and following that region’s early eighteenth-century gold rush. Drumming, chant, and dance channeled healing and divinational powers brought about primarily through trance possession. Severely disrupted by Church intervention, descriptions of calundu found in Portuguese Inquisition testimony join the published observations by European travelers as windows into the social history of Minas Gerais, an important yet often overlooked cultural territory of Brazil. This region of gold, diamonds, and coffee formed one of the most intense, highly populated slave operations known in the Western Hemisphere. Calundu’s practitioners, its musical worlds and social spaces, promote the parallelism argument that contrasts theories of syncretism and creolization. Calundu’s fatal narrative as an independent system of thought paralleling Catholicism forms a chapter in the African Diaspora’s vital history.

The Representation of Ireland in Bertalan Szemere’s Utazás külföldön or A Journey Abroad A Study of Szemere’s Image-Forming Sources

AbstractThe present study adds to my ongoing research into Irish-Hungarian relations in the nineteenth century. As such it is concerned with Bertalan Szemere’s representation of Ireland in his travelogue Utazás külföldön [A Journey Abroad]. It approaches Szemere’s work from the perspective of the following three questions. How does Szemere’s trip to Ireland fit into the tradition of Irish-Hungarian contacts? What urged Szemere to sail over to Ireland and extend his already long and tiring tour of Europe? And finally, what factors shaped Szemere’s image of Ireland in his travel account? A preliminary study of the conditions of Szemere’s trip and his actual account of the country has led me to the hypothesis that in the process of creating his own representation of Ireland Szemere heavily relied on external sources. I seek to answer these questions by identifying the place of Szemere’s travel account in the tradition of Hungarian-Irish contacts; by relating it to other texts on Ireland by Szemere’s Hungarian contemporaries; and by comparing it to particular reports on Ireland by European travellers. My aim is to prove that Szemere’s representation of Ireland was primarily informed and moulded by German and English sources as they were transferred to Szemere by some Hungarian periodicals. My study also emphasizes the importance of further research into the interaction of Hungarian and European discourse on Ireland in the nineteenth century.

Perception of European Tourist Toward Bali As Tourism Destination

This research aimed to determine main attractor factors of Bali tourism and pre­do­minantly factors that determine the European travel to Bali. It was designed by using research sur­vey that in­volving 167 European tourist selected purposively. Con­fir­ma­to­ry factor analysis techniques were used to analyse a wide range of variables Balinese charm. The re­sults showed the main attractor factors of Bali tourism are (1) Immigration, security of destin­ation, and travel agencies, (2) The prices, the accommodation, food and transportation, (3) The history, cul­ture, and na­tural beauty. While the most dominant factor in de­ter­mi­ning European tourists travelled to Bali were immi­gra­tion, security of destination, and travel agencies. The findings also indicated that the images of Bali tourism are the destination's history, culture, and na­ture. These three variables were in accordance with ex­pectations of Euro­pean tourists who have been known as travellers who like the interested on history, culture, and the beauty of the scenery.

Ottoman Music In Travel Books: A Path To Restructure The Forgotten Ottoman Musical Instruments

The primary aim of this study is to demonstrate the important historical contribution made by written accounts of Ottoman and European travelers regarding Ottoman musical practices. This article reflects information gleaned from a larger research project that ultimately aims to illuminate the role and usage of various Ottoman-era instruments that have been forgotten in the modern era. Obscured in the vast span of time, these instruments are now historical and cultural artifacts that have been unnecessarily marginalized in our contemporary times . In this study, the musical lives of the Ottomans and their musical instruments are discussed through the perspectives of Ottoman and European travelers, including as Evliya Çelebi, Guillaume Postel, Johannes Lewenklau, Cane, du Loir, d’Ohsson and Julia Pardoe. In addition to the narratives of these travelers, Ottoman miniatures are used as revealing visual resources to identify and categorize forgotten musical instruments. The compelling connection between these two resources may become the first step towards rejuvinating awareness and understanding of the cultural significance of these instruments as colorful pieces in the mosaic of Turkey’s multi-faceted artistic heritage.

Dengue data and surveillance in Tanzania: a systematic literature review.

Although there is evidence that dengue virus is circulating in Tanzania, the country lacks a dengue surveillance system. Consequently, the true estimate of dengue seroprevalence, as well as the incidence in the population, the frequency and magnitude of outbreaks is unknown. This study therefore sought to systematically review available dengue data from Tanzania. The systematic review was conducted and reported using the PRISMA tool. Five databases (PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, WHOLIS and Google Scholar) were searched for articles using various keywords on the illness, data and geographical location. Identified articles were assessed for inclusion based on predefined eligibility criteria. Data were extracted from included articles, analysed and reported. Based on the 10 seroprevalence studies in defined populations with estimates of acute confirmed infections that were included in the review, the estimated seroprevalence of past dengue infection in Tanzania ranged from 50.6% in a health facility-based study to 11% in a population-based study. Acute confirmed infections of dengue were estimated to be as high as 38.2% of suspected cases. Only one study reported on an outbreak. It is evident that dengue needs to become part of regular disease surveillance in Tanzania. Control measures need to be instituted with a focus on building human resource capacity and integrating dengue control measures in ongoing health programmes, for both preventive and curative interventions. Systematic reviews are valuable in assessing health issues when surveillance data are not available.

Rain, Sun, Soil, and Sweat: A Consideration of Population Limits on Rapa Nui (Easter Island) before European Contact

The incongruity between the small and apparently impoverished Rapa Nui population that early European travelers encountered and the magnificence of its numerous and massive stone statues has fed a deep fascination with the island. Ethnographic and archaeological evidence suggest that the indigenous population was previously greater than the estimated 1500-3000 individuals observed by visitors in the 18th Century. Our goal was to determine the maximum population that might have lived on the island by estimating its agricultural productivity in the time before European contact. To determine the agricultural potential of the island we sampled soils and established six weather stations in diverse contexts and recorded data over a 2-year period. We find that the island is wetter on average than previously believed. We also find that rainfall and temperature respond linearly to elevation, but a spatial model of precipitation requires correction for a rain shadow effect. We adapted to Rapa Nui an island-wide spatial model designed to identify agriculturally viable zones elsewhere in Polynesia. Based on functions relating climate and substrate age to measurements of soil base saturation, we identified 3,134 ha that were suitable for traditional dryland sweet potato cultivation, or about 19% of the 164 km2 island. We used a nutrient-cycling model to estimate yields. Modeled yields are highly sensitive to nitrogen (N) inputs and reliable estimates of these rates are unavailable, requiring us to bracket the rate of N inputs. In the case of low N availability, yields under continuous cultivation were very small, averaging 1.5 t/ha of wet sweet potato tuber. When the N fixation rate was quadrupled sustainable yields increased to 5.1 t/ha. In each N scenario we used a model of food-limited demography to examine the consequences of altering agricultural practices, the labor supply, the ability of the population to control its fertility, and the presence or absence of surplus production to support social inequalities. In the low-N case viable populations average approximately 3,500 individuals across all parameter combinations, versus 17,500 in the high-N case, although sustainable populations in excess of 25,000 were possible under some assumptions.

Spoils for the New Pyrrhus: Alternative Claims to Antiquity in Ottoman Greece

This article examines the role of one governor in the Ottoman provinces, Tepedelenli Ali Pasha, in the ‘scramble’ for classical antiquity as it emerged in the early nineteenth century. Drawing upon a wide range of evidence – architectural inscriptions, archival documents, European travel accounts and oral tradition – this project seeks to investigate how Ali Pasha routinely appropriated the ancient past to secure his own political legitimacy in the region. Several of Ali Pasha’s constructions incorporate spoliated stone blocks from ancient sites, and the governor also conducted excavations with European archaeologists travelling through his territory. The case of Ali Pasha dispels the notion often rehearsed in western travel accounts of an Ottoman population indifferent to the antiquities lying at their feet. To the contrary, the vizier laid claim to this antique heritage as his own cultural patrimony. The governor forged explicit connections to local history in public inscriptions and poetic works, frequently referring to himself as the ‘new Pyrrhus’ (the ancient Greek king of Ioannina). The fact that Ali Pasha, an Albanian Muslim, endeavoured to position himself as the rightful heir to the region’s historical past offers an alternative discourse on classical antiquity that has largely been forgotten or even suppressed by modern scholarship.

Kim M. Phillips, Before Orientalism: Asian Peoples and Cultures in European Travel Writing, 1245–1510

Kim M. Phillips, Before Orientalism: Asian Peoples and Cultures in European Travel Writing, 1245–1510

Schistosomiasis in European Travelers and Migrants: Analysis of 14 Years TropNet Surveillance Data.

Schistosomiasis remains one of the most prevalent parasitic diseases worldwide and the infection is frequently found in travelers and migrants. The European Network for Tropical Medicine and Travel Health conducted a sentinel surveillance study on imported schistosomiasis between 1997 and 2010. This report summarizes epidemiological and clinical data from 1,465 cases of imported schistosomiasis. Direct pathogen detection and serology were the main diagnostic tools applied. Of these, 486 (33%) cases were identified among European travelers, 231 (16%) among long-term expatriates, and 748 (51%) among non-European immigrants. Overall, only 18.6% of travelers had received pretravel advice; 95% of infections were acquired in the African region. On species level, Schistosoma mansoni was identified in 570 (39%) and Schistosoma haematobium in 318 (22%) cases; 57.5% of patients were symptomatic. Acute symptoms were reported in 27% of patients leading to earlier presentation within 3 months. Praziquantel was used in all patients to treat schistosomiasis. Many infections were detected in asymptomatic patients. In 47.4% of asymptomatic patients infection was detected by microscopy and in 39% by serology or antigen testing. Schistosomiasis remains a frequent infection in travelers and migrants to Europe. Travelers should be made aware of the risk of schistosomiasis infection when traveling to sub-Saharan Africa. Posttravel consultations particularly for returning expatriates are useful given the high potential for detecting asymptomatic infections.

‘Sending them beyond the Sea’: Andrew Marvell, the Earl of Clare, and Tutoring in the Restoration

Going ‘beyond the sea’ was an important part of education in the seventeenth century. We know that Marvell traveled extensively in Europe as a tutor in the 1640s, and with William Dutton in the 1650s. Marvell’s career as a tutor has received a good deal of attention from modern scholars. Thanks to Nigel Smith’s recent biography and Nicholas von Maltzahn’s chronology of Marvell’s life, we have a detailed account of the years Marvell was employed in this type of service. Yet existing commentary on Marvell and tutoring covers only a brief period in the 1640s and 1650s, up until the point Marvell entered the secretariat in 1657. This essay examines a newly discovered letter suggesting that Marvell continued to be involved in the tutoring of the nobility in the Restoration – as a client of Gilbert Holles, Earl of Clare, Marvell was searching for nonconformist tutors with extensive travel experience for Clare’s son. The letter is significant for two reasons. Firstly, it underlines the value attached to European travel in the education of the nobility and gentry. Secondly, it provides valuable information about Marvell’s circle of acquaintances in the Restoration. The newly found link between Clare and Marvell expands the network of puritan politicians with whom we know Marvell associated. Clare’s puritan interests mattered to his choice of tutor. Looking closely at the kind of service Marvell offered Clare helps us better to understand Marvell’s attitude to nonconformity, and how this manifests itself in his writing in the 1670s.

Narrando a Paisagem: os Campos Gerais do Paraná em três relatos de viagem do século XIX

A partir do século XIX, os Campos Gerais, no segundo planalto paranaense, foram visitados por viajantes europeus e brasileiros. Os relatos deixados por eles constituem um importante conjunto documental para a historiografia paranaense. Dessa série, selecionamos três para compor a pesquisa que se segue. São eles: Viagem pela comarca de Curitiba, de Auguste de Saint-Hilaire; Novo caminho no Brasil Meridional, de Thomas Plantagenet Bigg-Wither; e Viagem filosófica aos Campos Gerais e sertão de Guarapuava, de Visconde de Taunay, de 1886. Nesses três relatos cada um dos viajantes destacou os Campos Gerais, dedicaram várias páginas a descrever a paisagem, buscando expor os elementos que a compunham e insistindo em sua grande beleza e possível utilidade.

Americans in the Treasure House: Travel to Porfirian Mexico and the Cultural Politics of Empire

At the turn of the twenty-first century, Dennis Merrill published his pioneering work on tourism and international relations, “Negotiating Cold War Paradise: US Tourism, Economic Planning, and Cultural Modernity in Twentieth-Century Puerto Rico,” in Diplomatic History (2001). A flourish of books on tourism development and international relations, including monographs by Merrill (Negotiating Paradise: US Tourism and Empire in Twentieth-Century Latin America [2009]) and Dina Berger (The Development of Mexico's Tourism Industry: Pyramids by Day, Martinis by Night [2006]) followed in the ensuing decade. Latin American tourism studies then took a postcolonial turn with works including Christine Skwiot's The Purposes of Paradise: US Tourism and Empire in Cuba and Hawai‘i (2010). Jason Ruiz's Americans in the Treasure House contributes further to the intersection of postcolonial cultural discourse and US-Mexican relations during the lengthy dictatorship of Porfirio Díaz (1876–1911).Utilizing an unusually deep and extensive collection of photographs gleaned from archival collections as well as traditional travel writing accounts of the era, Ruiz “asks how travel discourse, deeply bound to racialized and sexualized accounts of Mexican bodies, functioned as a site of knowledge production and empire” (p. 3). Expanded railway service between Mexico and the United States in the 1880s served as the connecting link that brought a new wave of American and European travelers to Mexico, ready with cameras and notebooks, to stare, gaze, and contemplate the compatibility of the two countries for imperial economic engagement. While the source material for the book spans a wide array of visual resources, Ruiz centers his narrative around the widely distributed work of Charles Burlingame Waite, a commercial photographer renowned for his tourist postcards as well as panoramas of the Porfirian economic project.Each of the book's chapters centers on encounters in “contact zones” scattered across the country, from the vestibule of Porfirio Díaz's office to the desolated Zapotec ruins near Mitla, Oaxaca. In the second chapter, for example, Ruiz analyzes widely distributed postcards of Porfirio Díaz as well as travelers' accounts of meetings with the president in an effort to understand representations of masculinity masquerading as national fitness for imperial compatibility with US enterprises and the nuanced acceptance of the president as the heir of European ancestry despite his conspicuous indigenous mien. Other chapters in the book analyze at great length the observations of middle- and upper-class American and European visitors to Mexico regarding indigenous and mestizo Mexican compatibility with the burgeoning neocolonial integration between the two countries. Ruiz points out some of the interesting North-South divisions of racialized discourse at the time. For example, while many travelers had their doubts about the ability to remake indigenous populations into citizens of the modern world vis-à-vis the freedman in the Jim Crow United States, skillful management of diverse native communities could render them acceptable as workers in a transnational economic system. Ruiz closes the book with a chapter on the US occupation of Veracruz during the Mexican Revolution, which paralleled a resurgence of doubts about Mexican compatibility with imperial designs north of the border as well as a longing—“Porfirian nostalgia,” in Ruiz's words—for a return to the order and stability achieved during the ousted president's long rule. With this chapter, Ruiz makes a strong case for the intersection of empire and tourism, reminiscent of Andrea Boardman's work on the origins of US tourism in Mexico at the close of the US-Mexican War (1846–1848). Ruiz's scrupulous attention to detail in reading photographs of locals within arm's length of American soldiers suggests that these locals may have congregated as a sign of opposition to their presence rather than curiosity (p. 210).Ruiz's strength lies in his insightful analysis of his visual sources. He thoughtfully evaluates images from the era to identify common visual and literary tropes used by travelers to explicate a Mexican variant on Edward Said's Orientalism (1978) that resonates within the particular dynamics of US-Mexican cultural politics. For example, in the first chapter of the book Ruiz examines the significance of the burdened laborer who permeates commercial and private postcards of the era, drawing out connections between representations of impoverished bodies and labor relations between the two countries. Ruiz gleans additional insight regarding the broader imperial implications of travelers' observations by comparing paired images of individuals and juxtaposing traditional and alternative readings of visual sources. Comparisons of pictures of Díaz and his second wife, Carmen, as well as photographs of Presidents Díaz and Theodore Roosevelt demonstrate how these images reinforced patriarchal notions of the Mexican head of state and the compatibility of the two heads of state for continuing economic rapprochement.