Exploring the Potential of Female overland Travel Narratives to Influence Development Processes

Sammanfattning

In this paper female overland documentations are examined, as narratives that could influence development processes. In thematic chapters female Overland travel is investigated and potential connection points between development processes and the travel narratives are highlighted. Therefore, the paper examined travel narratives as an integral part of shaping our worldview and political agents. Three books penned by female Overlanders have been analyzed, as well as multiple social media accounts and seven semi-structured interviews conducted. The analysis showed that female overland documentaries have the potential to influence development processes on multiple levels, ranging from real encounters to documentary practices that foster cross-cultural empathy, are actively engaging with the colonial past of the field and construct shared agency rather than singular superiority. In conclusion, the value of the narrative as instigators of change, to a Northern-centric worldview has been identified.