Description
Book SynopsisThe central concern of this study is the basic question: what does it mean to travel? In order to understand this query, Hafizi places the discourse on travel within an economical framework and distinguishes between two interdependent forms: a restricted economy of travel and a general economy of travel. The apparent closed structure of departure and arrival in a traditional definition of travel, which Hafizi refers to as a restricted economy of travel, is usually teleological in its movement from an origin towards a destination. More often than not, it is an incarnation of knowledge and light, an unveiling of the secrets of the others. Hafizi challenges this structure by arguing that behind this traditional notion of travel lies a different itinerary, which he refers to as a general economy of travel. This itinerary departs from a non-origin, whose trajectory is not continuous, ordered, or controlled, and whose destination is a being-destined-to-wander. The arrival at a destination is
Trade ReviewHafizi's book is an inventive study of travel writing from the perspective of "general economy," a notion taken from Bataille, that argues for thinking about foundations, whether memory, identity, family, or the state, as always already disrupted by forces beyond the subject. In each of his chapters, Hafizi intervenes in current critical debates in a thoughtful manner, and his discussion of the importance of travel for understanding the theoretical implications of displacement is astute and informed. -- John. P. Leavey, professor of English, University of Florida
Hafizi critiques the conventional notions of travel and presents a different philosophy . . . in which it is not guaranteed that travel results in a form of cultural capital for the subject. -- Colin Hariskov, professor of philosophy, School of Liberal Arts, Savannah College of Art and Design
Table of ContentsChapter 1: Introduction Chapter 2: The Restricted Economy of Travel Chapter 3: Toward A General Economy of Travel Chapter 4: Réda Bensmaïa's The Year of Passages: Mourning Becomes Diaspora Chapter 5: Conclusion Bibliography
