TOURISM AND SOCIETY - 2025/6

Module Overview

This module develops students’ understanding of the roles tourism plays within and for societies, thereby widening students’ global and cultural capabilities. The module gives students an introductory overview of the history and origins of tourism, its contemporary nature, the inequalities that characterise it and the possibilities for social justice and social sustainability through maximising tourism’s positive societal outcomes. On the basis of theoretical concepts drawn from sociology, anthropology, leisure and tourism studies, the module provides students with a more critical awareness of the relationships between tourism and society, supported by international case study examples and opportunities for critical debate.

Module provider

Surrey Hospitality & Tourism Management

Module Leader

COHEN Scott (Hosp & Tour)

Number of Credits: 15

ECTS Credits: 7.5

Framework: FHEQ Level 4

Module cap (Maximum number of students): N/A

Module Availability

Semester 2

Prerequisites / Co-requisites

None

Module content

Indicative content includes:

• The sociology of tourism
• Structure and agency
• Understandings of society
• History of leisure and tourism
• Tourism and gender
• Contested heritage
• Power in tourism
• Tourism and social justice
• Tourism and migration
• Tourism and mobilities

Assessment pattern

Alternative Assessment

N/A

Assessment Strategy

  The assessment strategy is designed to provide students with the opportunity to demonstrate: their insight into the inter-relationships between tourism and wider society, underpinned by appropriate social science concepts, and their ability to critically debate the limitations and challenges in engendering positive social change through tourism. Students are taught best practice in academic essay writing within the module, which will increase their resourcefulness and resilience in successfully progressing through their programme.

Thus, the summative assessment for this module consists of:

• An individual essay. One topic is chosen from a choice of two.

Module aims

• Examine the history and origins of tourism and its relationship with society
• Investigate the structures, roles and motivations that characterise contemporary tourism
• Reveal inequalities in the production and consumption of tourism as based on social structures such as gender, sexual orientation, culture etc.
• Detail strategies and policies that aim to achieve social justice through maximising the positive societal outcomes of tourism

Learning outcomes

Methods of Teaching / Learning

  The learning and teaching strategy is designed to: provide students with an introductory critical understanding of the inter-relationships between tourism and wider society.

  The learning and teaching methods include:

            • Lectures designed to provide a framework of knowledge

            • Case study applications to promote critical thinking

 

Relevant case studies and in-class discussions and presentations are integrated into the lectures and seminars. Students are encouraged and expected to engage by completing advanced recommended readings before each lecture/seminar and being active participants in class. Students’ digital capabilities are enhanced by accessing the recommended readings through the Virtual Learning Environment, SurreyLearn. Interaction and discussion are key to this module.

 

 

Indicated Lecture Hours (which may also include seminars, tutorials, workshops and other contact time) are approximate and may include in-class tests where one or more of these are an assessment on the module. In-class tests are scheduled/organised separately to taught content and will be published on to student personal timetables, where they apply to taken modules, as soon as they are finalised by central administration. This will usually be after the initial publication of the teaching timetable for the relevant semester.

Reading list

https://readinglists.surrey.ac.uk
Upon accessing the reading list, please search for the module using the module code: MAN1108

Other information

This module adopts the University’s curriculum framework which aims to develop learners with strong capabilities in Employability, Digital Capabilities, Global and Cultural Capabilities, Sustainability and Resourcefulness and Resilience. This module contributes to the development of the following capabilities: 

Digital Capabilities: The Virtual Learning Environment (VLE), SurreyLearn, is an essential part of this module. Students will use the virtual learning environment (VLE), SurreyLearn, to facilitate learning. These include accessing teaching and learning materials and engaging with their instructors and peers.

Global and Cultural Capabilities: The module gives a view on the changing nature of societies in a globalising world, and how these changes intersect with tourism. Global perspectives and culture are thus a reoccurring theme throughout the semester. As the class is a mix of students who are from different countries and have diverse cultural backgrounds, class discussions and seminars will provide opportunities to learn from one another and for students to develop global and cultural awareness which will be invaluable as they progress through their programme.   

Sustainability: This module motivates students to critically evaluate inequalities in the production and consumption of tourism, inviting consideration of strategies that can maximise social justice and improve the societal outcomes of tourism. Debates and discussion on these issues are framed within the social sustainability of tourism.  

Resourcefulness and Resilience: The assessment strategy provides students with training in how to write an academic essay, which will be invaluable for successfully progressing their programme. This strategy comprises three stages: in-class training on best principles in essay writing provided early in the semester, formative feedback through mock essay writing at the end of semester, and summative assessment via an individual essay. Through this strategy, this module empowers students to build self-evaluation into the assessment process and creates space for students to reflect on their own performance whilst reviewing feedback. Also, the critical nature of the in-class discussion will help foster openness by encouraging students to understand and discuss contrasting perspectives.

Programmes this module appears in

Please note that the information detailed within this record is accurate at the time of publishing and may be subject to change. This record contains information for the most up to date version of the programme / module for the 2025/6 academic year.