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Profs and Pints presidents: “The Great American Road Trip,” with Allen Pietrobon, adjunct professor of modern American history at American University and visiting professor at Trinity Washington University.
Perhaps no genre of book is so typically American than the travel narrative. From the Underground Railroad to the Settlement of the West to the modern cross-country road trip, travel narratives have infused American history and popular culture.
Many of these stories are written by people who found themselves to be “outsiders” along the way. From Mark Twain’s Life on the Mississippi, to John Stienbeck’s Travels With Charlie, to Jack Kerouac’s On The Road, in most of these stories the protagonist is positioned as an explorer in an exotic place—whether that be Jim Crow Alabama or the American West—on a journey of self-discovery to encounter the “real” America.
What is so compelling about travel stories? What can they teach us about American history, culture, and society? And why are there so few female road narratives?
Just in time for the summer vacation season, join Allen Pietrobon for a trip into America. After exploring the nature and impact of American travel stories, we’ll look at one specific treacherous journey in 1753; a 10-week hike into the interior of America through the wilderness in what was then enemy territory. This “road trip” to deliver a single letter would spark a war that would redraw the map and change the fate of North America forever.
Come along for a journey with a detour into a crucial turning point in American history. You’ll have a blast without spending money on tolls and gas. (Advance tickets: $12. Door: $15, save $2 with a student ID. Listed time is for doors. Talk starts 30 minutes later. Please give yourself plenty of time to place any orders and get settled in.)
