Abstract (eng)
There has been very little scientific research on round-the-world travelling although it has firmly established itself in various medial discourses and products. Drawing from the impression, that these discourses and cultural products seem to frame specific concepts of life and self-fulfillment, the study examines round-the-world trips and explores whether those travelling practices form subjectivation patterns. Simultaneously it investigates if, how and which subject norms shape those practices. Building on poststructuralist theory and the premises of sociological of knowledge, the theoretical dimensions of a subjectivation analysis are outlined. From a cultural-historical perspective, the interrelated development of subject cultures and travel practices is traced. Within the framework of an Interpretative Subjectivation Analysis, the study aims to explore the process of subjectivation by drawing empirical data from two different levels. Analyzing the discursively constructed subject norms in two travel documentaries and the self-positioning process of round-the-world travellers with five problem-centered interviews and an Interpretation Pattern Analysis, the research is able to demonstrate the entanglement between normative subject orders and self-relations. The documentaries embody round-the-world travelling as a specific subjectivation practice and create a specific subject form. That particular subject form primarily contains the ability and willingness to (self-)reflect. Additionally, it represents open-mindedness, independency, the urge for new experiences, communication competence and interest as well as the need and consciousness for physical experiences. Meanwhile, in their self-narrations, the travellers tend to align themselves exactly along those abilities and attitudes. Moreover, they legitimize these self-attributions through their travel experiences and distinguish themselves from others. Therefore, the study views the individual journeys and related identity constructions as a reaction to the specific identified interpellation and subject norms. Round-the-world trips are a deliberate training of the self and enable individual symbolic enhancement. The self-positioning towards a reflected self is the characterizing subject position. As a practice of subjectivation it not only refers to the reflection of the self, but also to a transcended and reflected worldview. Additionally, the study addresses the question to which extent round-the-world travelling reflect subject ideals of a contemporary hegemonic subject culture. Leaning on theories by Andreas Reckwitz, round-the-world trips are capable of meeting social demands of constant self-optimization and creative experimentalism. However, the practice goes beyond Reckwitz hypothesis as it views self- and world-reflection as the core of a successful subjectivation process, which is enabled by communication skills and experiences. The findings therefore understand the process of subjectivation in this field slightly deviate from Reckwitz. The accumulation of experiences are functionally utilized to create oneself as a reflected (and communicative) subject.