Drawing from tourism studies, travel literature, and cultural studies, this dissertation uses textual analysis to explore the implicit ideological agendas of international development in a selection of popular narratives written to describe efforts of Spanish individuals to combat poverty in “developing” countries: Pura vida (1998) by José María Mendiluce, Una maestra en Katmandú (2002) by Victoria Subirana, Sonrisas de Bombay (2007) by Jaume Sanllorente, and Los colores de un sueño (2013) by Alba de Toro. This study provides a sociological framework for understanding the politics of production, distribution, and reception of such narratives and examines the discourse of individual altruism by juxtaposing the fields of mass tourism, international development and contemporary popular literature. Although development-themed narratives present themselves as depictions of charity work, they are also stories of touristic exploits. This dissertation explores how the colonial myth of the explorer is refurbished in narratives of altruistic development within the postmodern mood of “global consciousness”, which is triggered by globalization, commodification and a sense of uncertainty—factors that produce a relentless drive to “save the world”. Despite the postmodern gloss, however, these narratives exoticize “non-modern” scenarios in which the narrators (adventure development tourists) represent themselves as intrepid white saviors in the style of explorers, missionaries and survivors of the past. In this sense, these narratives depend on traditional travel literature tropes. The deliberate status of these popular narratives as commodities is highlighted, exposing their utility as marketing tools for NGOs. To this end, this dissertation connects the idea of “a good story” to a publishing objective. Reception is approached by exploring the role of interpellation: the subliminal ways in which readers become financial supporters within the context of “global consciousness” wherein altruistic impulses are commodified and incorporated into lifestyles. In this sense, literature plays a key role in formulating and naturalizing the discourse of development. This dissertation exposes the double mechanism at work in development-themed narratives: the pursuit of progressive development used to veil complicity with exploitation.

The purpose of this study was to explore the reasons and motivations behind voluntourism in reference to working with children, and how these can be understood and analyzed within the framework of voluntourism research. A qualitative approach was used, and data was collected through semi-structured interviews and then evaluated with the use of a thematic analysis. This data was then analyzed in correlation to previous voluntourism research and through the theoretical frameworks of postcolonialism and neocolonialism. Eight interviews were conducted, with six voluntourists and two representatives from voluntourist organizations. Our findings were that the respondents had well-meaning intentions, along with complex and nuanced thoughts in relation to culture shocks, reflections, relationships with the children and rules and regulations given by the voluntourism organizations they traveled with. The conclusions drawn from these findings were that while intent does not trump impact, this phenomenon should be examined in relation to power dynamics and the privatization of development work.

Waverley; or ’Tis Sixty Years Since is an historical novel written by the Scottish author Sir Walter Scott which follows the adventures of Edward Waverley through the Scottish Highlands during the 1745–1746 Jacobite rebellion. It is, as has been suggested by previous research, a novel with a clear imperialistic bias and this essay adds to that discourse by applying the modern concept of the white savior complex. The white savior complex argues that white characters, in certain works, act as and are described as intelligent and moral saviors of non-white characters, who in turn are portrayed as unintelligent and immoral. Only by the actions of the white savior can they be saved. The complex is present mainly in the novel’s protagonist who drags the seemingly backwards society of the Scottish Highlands into a modern future as part of Great Brittan. This essay argues that the move from a backwards and archaic society to a modern and prosperous one would have been possible even without using the framework the white savior.

Authors: Karin Lindberg & Erika Losciale Title: The West and the Rest Level: BA Thesis in Media and Communication Studies Location: Linnaeus University Language: Swedish In today's media, the use of stereotypes and simplifications of the world and of different groups are common. It is a part of how humans make sense of the world. The problem is that these simplifications tend to encourage false notions of reality. The way charities communicate in advertising is important in order to engage the audience to donate. This study aims to examine how the non-profit organization SOS Barnbyar Sverige portray underprivileged individuals in their commercials. We have chosen to focus on two different commercials in relation to the ongoing refugee crisis in Europe. The first commercial has no relation to the crisis and the second one is an attempt to show the viewer the situation of a refugee. We have studied the material through a qualitative semiotic method, also using colonialism, stereotypes and representation as theoretical frame- work in order to examine whether or not certain notions and simplifications are reproduced in the commercials from this organization. Our study has shown that there were a lot of colonial ideals and stereotypes to be found in SOS Barnbyars commercials, thus fueling the polarization of us and them and the Other.

This study critically examine what discourses are found on five websites of Swedish volunteer travel agencies and whether they reflect postcolonial and racialized structures between the global north and the global south. Thus, the study aims to focus on the relationship between whites and non-whites to shed light on potential unequal racial power relations. Furthermore, the portrayal of the volunteers and recipients has been analyzed in accordance with van Dijk's critical discourse analysis, inspired by intragroup discourse about others. The study identified three overarching discourses, discourses about the representation of the recipients, discourses about the representation of the volunteers and discourses about the representation of the countries. The result identified an unequal power relationship characterized by colonial and racial logics. A postcolonial distinction between “us and them” was demonstrated through the ways the volunteer was presented as superior to the inferior recipient. Furthermore, this study shows through analysis of the With Savior Industrial Complex, that the recipients' needs where emphasized to recruit inexperienced volunteers. Thusly, showing that the travel agencies benefit from the notion that the recipients in the global south needs “the white savior”.