Tufts Blogs

My favorite class I’ve taken at Tufts was taught in an 11th century reformed monastery in the French countryside. This is a sentence I never imagined would be a part of my Tufts experience. However, I had the amazing opportunity to travel to Tufts’ European Center in Talloires, France for the Tufts in Talloires program. Each year, a group of students travel with staff and faculty to Talloires for six weeks during the summer. Every student chooses two classes to take (taught in English by Tufts professors) and receives full credit for the courses. One of the classes I chose to take was the Sociology of Travel and Tourism taught by Professor Sarah Sobieraj.

Sociology of Travel and Tourism opened my eyes to the many ways traveling and the tourism industry impacts society. This was my first time traveling outside of the country, and it really changed my experience. Instead of just looking at the sights, because of Sociology of Travel and Tourism I began to look beyond the sights as well. Questioning who was promoting tourist sights, who was benefiting, and who was not. We discussed slum tourism - the phenomenon of upper class individuals traveling to low income areas to see “how the other half lives.” We discussed this in the context of the World Cup in Rio de Janeiro that was occurring during our class time. We had local tour guides visit our class to discuss how tourism affects Talloires and the people who live there. It really changed my study abroad experience in a positive way - making every interaction more meaningful.

Ultimately, this class even helped me decide my major. Professor Sobieraj is now my advisor for my major in Sociology. To me, this class demonstrated how versatile sociology is - you can study and analyze practically anything through a sociological lens. This class shaped my study abroad experience and my entire Tufts career.