Selling the Sights

In the early 19th century, Americans began to journey away from home simply for the sake of traveling. Will Mackintosh(University of Mary Washington) is the author of a new book Selling the Sights: The Invention of the Tourist in American Culture. And: In the past couple of decades, a lot has changed for rural American tourism. Nancy McGehee (Virginia Tech) says that from public artworks to popular foodie trails, small towns and rural areas are finding ways to enrich their communities through tourism. Plus: City-dwellers escape to national and state parks for the beautiful sights and the fresh air. Chris Zajchowski (Old Dominion University) says that, unfortunately, when those tourists travel for clean air, they bring polluted air with them. Later in the show: Within seconds of hearing someone speak, we make judgments about that person and their background, just based on their accent. Linguistics professor Steven Weinberger (George Mason University) explains how and when we develop accents and how these accents affect our identity. Also: Written in early English, Geoffrey Chaucer’s fourteenth century writings may seem impenetrable, with strange pronunciation and incomprehensible phrases. English professor Alan Baragona (James Madison University) says the best way to approach Chaucer is to read it out loud and hear the musicality of the words.