“Grand Tour” Journaling Questions

How did the Grand Tour shape Northern European attitudes toward Southern Europeans and their cultures? What stereotypes and cultural hierarchies were reinforced by travelers’ accounts?

In what ways did Grand Tourists behave disrespectfully—by ignoring local customs, misrepresenting cultures, or treating local people as “exotic” subjects for observation? Can we trace parallels in contemporary tourism practices?

How did artistic and literary narratives from the Grand Tour period influence visual stereotypes and discriminatory images of Southern Europeans (Italians, Greeks) in Northern Europe?

Can the “disrespectful tourist” be seen as a prototype for later colonial and racial attitudes in travel writing, media, and global tourism?

What connections exist between the Grand Tour’s “othering” of Southern Europe and today’s patterns of privilege, gaze, and entitlement in international travel?

How do modern tourists perpetuate or challenge historic racial and cultural biases when visiting countries or communities seen as “less modern” or “less civilized”?

How might the ways Northern European tourists engaged with Southern European spaces and peoples in the 18th and 19th centuries inform our understanding of microaggressions, racial bias, and the commodification of culture in tourism today?

What role does media (including social media) play in shaping perceptions about travel destinations and local people, echoing patterns established by Grand Tour narratives and illustrations?

Can education about the Grand Tour’s impact and legacy help challenge discriminatory attitudes in today’s tourism industry? What would this look like in practice?

In what ways did early travel experiences influence your sense of identity, privilege, or belonging—especially as you moved through renowned cultural spaces?

How have you noticed your motivations for traveling change over time, especially regarding interacting with local people and cultures?

What parallels do you see between your personal approach to learning languages and demonstrating cultural humility, and the historical dynamics of tourism described?

Reflect on a time when you felt welcomed or rejected as a traveler. How did that experience shape your understanding of cross-cultural generosity and exclusion?

How does the legacy of the Grand Tour—its mix of prestige, acquisition, and stereotyping—show up in modern travel attitudes, including your own?

What examples of “bingo checklist mentality” have you observed in yourself or others, and how might these attitudes obscure deeper engagement or learning?

In what ways do narratives of power, dominance, or “othering” persist in today’s travel and tourism (news headlines, stereotyping, entitlement in tourist behavior)?

How do you reconcile admiration for iconic art, literature, and culture with an awareness of the social and historical inequalities that shaped their legacy?

Reflect on your own sense of entitlement or humility while engaging abroad. In what moments have you recognized the need to challenge arrogance and appropriation?

What actions can you take to honor genuine connection over cultural acquisition in future travels, fostering respect and deeper mutual understanding?