Dans le cadre des séminaires de l’axe 2 de Pléiade (USPN), nous accueillons le 4 avril 2025 Pere Gifra-Adroher (Universitat Pompeu Fabra), qui nous parlera, en anglais, de voyageurs britanniques ayant parcouru l’Espagne à vélo à la fin du XIXe siècle, et de leur rapport au paysage. La séance aura lieu au Campus Condorcet (salle 0.019, Bâtiment de recherche Sud), et en ligne: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/84287294248?pwd=YkxpFivcRwfqVZZXxvlE8z2zfWVobm.1

From Landscapes to Sensescapes: Representations of Spain in Some Fin-de-Siècle Cycling Narratives

This presentation examines the transformation in the perception of Spain in travel writing at the close of the nineteenth century, prompted by the advent of the bicycle as a novel mode of mobility. Utilizing Peter Cox’s recent theoretical framework of “velomobility” and the concept of “sensescape”, the focus is on how authors of various British and American cycling narratives engaged with the Spanish landscape in a manner that transcended the picturesque. This engagement not only enriched traditional experiences of the local scenery but also emphasized sounds, smells, and other sensory phenomena.