Videography and student engagement: The potentials of battlefield tourism

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to present the findings from a collaborative study conducted by a research team consisting of Canadian university students and a course instructor visiting battlefields and memorials located in Western Europe. The goal of the course was to provide students with an experiential opportunity to learn about the First and Second World Wars, participate in video interviews, and administer surveys on-site. Emphasizing the field component of the course, this paper discusses how visual ethnography can be used to provide a greater understanding of visitor motivations and enhanced tourism learning experiences. Also discussed are the strengths and weaknesses of conducting field research for a university undergraduate level course and the potential contributions that such approaches bring to learning.