Travel studies and the decolonial turn

Whilst the multiple entanglements between Western colonialism and practices of travel and travel writing have long been subject to scrutiny, less attention has been paid to the ways in which the categories, methods, and parameters of the academic study of travel have been and continue to be shaped by a Eurocentric legacy rooted in the colonial past. This introduction to the special issue “Travel Studies and the Decolonial Turn” reflects upon the exclusions which have long defined the field of travel (writing) studies and proposes alternative theoretical insights and perspectives through critical engagement with decolonial theory. Building on existing and emerging trends in the literature on travel and mobility, it argues for an approach to travel studies that is more expansive, more inclusive, and prepared not only to acknowledge the influence of colonialism on the field but to resist and move beyond it.