University class revs up research on motorcycle culture

A motorcycle coffee shop might seem like an odd place for a university class’s research fair but not if the students are presenting their work on “Literature and Motorcycle Cultures.”

The University of Victoria English course takes an interdisciplinary approach to motorcycle culture by looking at literature, internet culture, movies and videos, historical, anthropological and sociological research.

“We have looked at the 1910 novel Tom Swift and his Motorcycle, the contemporary video series Long Way Round about motorcycle adventure touring, motorcycle safety culture, Easy Rider, the imagery of outlaw motorcycle gangs, and the analogy between motorcycling and archival research developed in Ted Bishop's Riding with Rilke, among other topics,” says English professor Misao Dean.

The course is designed for non-English majors to introduce them to the forms of analysis used in literary and cultural studies. Being offered again in the fall, the course is open to community members.

The students, who are the first cohort to take the course, will present and discuss their projects which include videos, powerpoint presentations and essays at Wheelies, a motorcycle shop and café at 2620 Rock Bay Ave., on Thursday, April 3, at 3 p.m.

Topics include safety and road design, female dispatch riders in the Second World War, motorcycle maintenance and attire in different historical periods.

-- 30 --