LICENSE TO TRAVEL : a cultural history of the passport

Discover the surprising global history of how the passport has shaped art, thought, and human experience to define the modern world. License to Travel exposes the passport as both an instrument of personal freedom and a tool of government surveillance powerful enough to define our very humanity. Patrick Bixby examines the passports of artists and intellectuals, ancient messengers and modern migrants to reveal how these seemingly humble documents implicate us in larger narratives about identity, mobility, citizenship, and state authority. This concise cultural history: Takes the reader on a captivating journey from pharaonic Egypt and Han-dynasty China to the passport controls and crowded refugee camps of today.Connects intimate stories of vulnerability and desire with vivid examples drawn from world cinema, literature, art, philosophy, & politicsHighlights the control that travel documents have over our bodies as we move around the globe.With unexpected discoveries at every turn, from narrow escapes and new starts, tearful departures and hopeful arrivals, License to Travel shares some of our most memorable experiences involving the passport. Patrick Bixby is Associate Professor of English at Arizona State University. His books include Unaccompanied Traveler: The Writings of Kathleen M. Murphy. This surprising global history of an indispensable document reveals how the passport has shaped art, thought, and human experience while helping to define the modern world. Narrow escapes and new starts, tearful departures and hopeful arrivals, unwanted scrutiny in the backrooms of officialdom: some of our most memorable experiences involve a passport. In License to Travel , Patrick Bixby examines the passports of artists and intellectuals, ancient messengers and modern migrants to reveal how these seemingly humble documents implicate us in larger narratives about identity, mobility, citizenship, and state authority. This concise cultural history takes the reader on a captivating journey from pharaonic Egypt and Han-dynasty China to the passport controls and crowded refugee camps of today. Along the way, the book connects intimate stories of vulnerability and desire with vivid examples drawn from world cinema, literature, art, philosophy, and politics, highlighting the control that travel documents have over our bodies as we move around the globe. With unexpected discoveries at every turn, License to Travel exposes the passport as both an instrument of personal freedom and a tool of government surveillance powerful enough to define our very humanity.

Discover the surprising global history of how the passport has shaped art, thought, and human experience to define the modern world. License to Travel exposes the passport as both an instrument of personal freedom and a tool of government surveillance powerful enough to define our very humanity. Patrick Bixby examines the passports of artists and intellectuals, ancient messengers and modern migrants to reveal how these seemingly humble documents implicate us in larger narratives about identity, mobility, citizenship, and state authority. This concise cultural history:

• Takes the reader on a captivating journey from pharaonic Egypt and Han-dynasty China to the passport controls and crowded refugee camps of today.
• Connects intimate stories of vulnerability and desire with vivid examples drawn from world cinema, literature, art, philosophy, and politics
• Highlights the control that travel documents have over our bodies as we move around the globe.

With unexpected discoveries at every turn, from narrow escapes and new starts, tearful departures and hopeful arrivals, License to Travel shares some of our most memorable experiences involving the passport.

Discover the surprising global history of how the passporthas shaped art, thought, and human experience to define the modernworld. License to Travel exposes the passport asboth an instrument of personal freedom and a tool of governmentsurveillance powerful enough to define our very humanity. PatrickBixby examines the passports of artists and intellectuals, ancientmessengers and modern migrants to reveal how these seemingly humbledocuments implicate us in larger narratives about identity,mobility, citizenship, and state authority. This concise culturalhistory:

• Takes the reader on a captivating journey from pharaonic Egyptand Han-dynasty China to the passport controls and crowded refugeecamps of today.
• Connects intimate stories of vulnerability and desire withvivid examples drawn from world cinema, literature, art,philosophy, and politics
• Highlights the control that travel documents have over ourbodies as we move around the globe.

With unexpected discoveries at every turn, from narrow escapes andnew starts, tearful departures and hopeful arrivals, License toTravel shares some of our most memorable experiences involvingthe passport This surprising global history of an indispensable document reveals how the passport has shaped art, thought, and human experience while helping to define the modern world. In License to Travel , Patrick Bixby takes the reader on a captivating journey from pharaonic Egypt and Han-dynasty China to the passport controls and crowded refugee camps of today. Along the way, you will: Peruse the passports of artists and intellectuals, writers and musicians, ancient messengers and modern migrants. See how these seemingly humble documents implicate us in larger narratives about identity, mobility, citizenship, and state authority. Encounter intimate stories of vulnerability and desire along with vivid examples drawn from world cinema, literature, art, philosophy, and politics. Witness the authority that travel documents exercise over our movements and our emotions as we circulate around the globe. With unexpected discoveries at every turn, License to Travel exposes the passport as both an instrument of personal freedom and a tool of government surveillance powerful enough to define our very humanity. "Departing for a new life far away; fleeing from the dangers, the restrictions, or just the mundanity of familiar surroundings; enduring unwanted scrutiny in the backrooms of officialdom: some of the most dramatic scenes of a life story involve a passport. By examining the travel documents of artists, intellectuals, ancient messengers, and modern migrants, License to Travel tells how these seemingly humble documents also implicate us--our emotions and imaginings--in some of the most sweeping transformations of human history: the emergence of the nation-state, of international relations, of government surveillance, of refugee crises, and of our global interconnectedness"-- Provided by publisher Contents Illustrations Acknowledgments Introduction “The Most Precious Book I Possess” Part one. A Prehistory of the Passport as We Know It One. Ancient Bodies, Ancient Citizens Two. Great Sovereigns, Grand Tourists Three. Modern Bodies, Modern Citizens Part two. The Advent of the Passport as We Know It Four. Modernists and Militants Part three. The Passport as We Know It Five. Expelled and Stateless Six. Migrants and Marxists Epilogue: Good Passports Bad Passports Notes Index