The Way of St. James as an Educational Resource

Abstract

The Camino de Santiago has experienced a notable resurgence of pilgrimage since the last decade of the twentieth century. It has become a global phenomenon that has attracted the interest not only of people who want to walk it but also academics. Numerous studies in books and journals address issues related to the history, art, touristic opportunities, landscapes, etc. of the Camino de Santiago. In this article we propose a less common perspective: the Camino as an educational tourism resource. More specifically, the goal is learning Spanish as a foreign language through a direct experience of the pilgrimage to Compostela. We start from the idea that the Camino itself can be a useful tool for learning content material related to the history and art of Europe incorporating the dynamism of its landscapes with tourism as an avenue to approach cultural, social and economic phenomena. We use the model of the International Courses of the University of Santiago de Compostela, a public entity managed by the University, the government of Galicia, and other partner institutions, which has developed a strategy in which the Camino de Santiago becomes a tool for learning Spanish language and culture through the use of diverse elements available along the route in its varied spatial/historical dimensions.