Imaginary journeys, whether made possible by literature, cinema, or photography, are interdependent with the imaginary world of travel, which they simultaneously help to shape and renew. Studying this relationship requires paying attention to the practices, representations, and emotional dimensions of travel, as well as the materiality and design of the devices and media that enable these forms of virtual mobility.

The Imaginary Journeys and Travel Fantasies project aims to explore this dynamic through two complementary study days: (i) Virtual Travel – Around the World in a Day and (ii) Towards a Geo-History of Travel and Tourist Heritage: Approaches, Concepts, and Methods, and a reference publication devoted to virtual globetrotters and world simulation devices from the 19th to the 21st century.

This project is linked to the Faire le Monde research program, based at the University of Geneva within the Department of Geography and funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF).