This week in class, we'll be thinking about what makes a pilgrimage, something that we can call "pilgrimage." First, we'll think about what makes up the defining characteristics of a pilgrimage based on our own intuition: is pilgrimage, like the famous Supreme Court Justice's pronouncement on pornography, just something that you "know it when you see it"? Or can we have a set in criteria in mind when approaching the phenomenon of pilgrimage, as earlier scholars have attempted to do?
In today's reading, Plate notes that "Some readers may balk at the idea that these [mass pilgrimages to atomic testing sites, Graceland, etc.] are ‘‘real pilgrimages,’’suggesting it is all just ‘‘tourism,’’ but that is to elide some crucial similarities that bear fleshing out" (2009: 262). Where should the line be drawn? Perhaps one question we should be asking is, "What kind of travel is NOT pilgrimage?" And for the purposes of this class, it's interesting to think about the role of the place, the destination, in the definition of the journey and the experience as a whole: how does that impact its designation as a pilgrimage destination?
I'm looking forward to hearing what you might think!
In today's reading, Plate notes that "Some readers may balk at the idea that these [mass pilgrimages to atomic testing sites, Graceland, etc.] are ‘‘real pilgrimages,’’suggesting it is all just ‘‘tourism,’’ but that is to elide some crucial similarities that bear fleshing out" (2009: 262). Where should the line be drawn? Perhaps one question we should be asking is, "What kind of travel is NOT pilgrimage?" And for the purposes of this class, it's interesting to think about the role of the place, the destination, in the definition of the journey and the experience as a whole: how does that impact its designation as a pilgrimage destination?
I'm looking forward to hearing what you might think!
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