FRS 002 — Sec. 006 — (2 units) — CRN 92617 — M 4:10-6:00pm — 1007 EU III
The Joy of Traveling

Instructor: Patricia Mokhtarian, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, College of Engineering

Description: The conventional engineering/economic analysis of urban travel demand treats travel purely as a means to reach desired activities in specific locations – a “necessary evil” that people want to minimize. This seminar contests that conventional wisdom by suggesting that under some circumstances, travel is a desired end in itself. We first explore the reasons why travel in general may be intrinsically desirable, and then apply those principles specifically to daily urban travel. The seminar will draw on a variety of disciplinary sources, including history, geography, biology, psychology, sociology, literature, the law, engineering, and popular culture. Information will be presented through informal lectures and student presentations, readings, and discussion.

Format: The seminar will meet for two hours each week. The time will be divided between informal lecture presentations, discussion, and student presentations. Some readings will be provided, with students expected to identify additional sources for their individual papers and presentations. Grading: Grading will be based on four assignments: 1. A brief (~750 words) autobiography focused on life experiences that have influenced their attitudes toward travel (modeled after Bruce Chatwin, “I Always Wanted to Go to Patagonia”); 25%. 2. A longer paper (~1,250 words) on a topic selected from a list provided by the instructor; 35%. 3. Oral presentation of the paper; 20%. 4. A collection of 10 popular media advertisements reflecting the joy of travel for its own sake, with a brief discussion (5-6 lines, at most, on each one) of how each ad relates to the theme of the course; 20%.

About the Instructor: Professor Mokhtarian is a member of the faculty of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. Her research interests involve analyzing and modeling travel-related attitudes and behavior. She is currently directing a multi-year research project on attitudes toward travel, and teaches courses in probability and statistics, survey design, and discrete choice modeling.