wanderlust

File:Sirius 28 sailboat Wanderlust 0730.jpg

Wanderlust is a strong desire to wander or travel and explore the world. The term has its roots in German Romanticism.

Etymology

The first documented use of the term in English occurred in 1902[http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=wanderlust Etymology of wanderlust] from Online Etymology Dictionary as a reflection of what was then seen as a characteristically German predilection for wandering that may be traced back to German Romanticism and the German system of apprenticeship (the journeyman), as well as the custom of adolescent wanderings in search of unity with nature.Erik H. Erikson, Childhood and Society (1973) p. 325

The term originates from the German words {{lang|de|wandern}} ('to hike') and {{lang|de|Lust}} ('desire'), literally translated as 'enjoyment of hiking', although it is commonly described as 'enjoyment of strolling, roaming about, or wandering'.{{Cite web|url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/wanderlust|title = Definition of WANDERLUST| date=26 September 2023 }}

In recent years, the word {{lang|de|Wanderlust}} is less commonly used in German, having been largely supplanted in the sense of 'desire to travel' by {{lang|de|Fernweh}} ('a longing for far-away places'), coined as an antonym to {{lang|de|Heimweh}}, 'homesickness', or 'travel fever' ({{lang|de|Reisefieber}}).

Sociology

Robert E. Park in the early twentieth century saw wanderlust as in opposition to the values of status and organisation,Robert E. Park; Ernest W. Burgess (1925). The City, "Chapter IX – The Mind of the Hobo: Reflections upon the Relation Between Mentality and Locomotion". Heritage of Sociology Series, 1967, p. 158M. Trask, Cruising Modernism (2003) p. 3Piers Beirne. [https://books.google.com/books?id=u2K3ieKt22QC&dq=%22Robert+E.+Park+%22+wanderlust&pg=PA171 The Chicago School of Criminology 1914-1945: The gang], p. 170-171. while postmodernism would by contrast see it largely as playfully empowering.A. Ganser, Roads of Her Own (2009) p. 34

In post-Enlightenment Europe, upper-class bachelors were encouraged to embark upon a {{lang|de|Bildungsreise}} (roughly, 'cultural education journey'), often sightseeing trips to Italy or France.

Among tourists, sociologists distinguish sunlust from wanderlust as motivating forces – the former primarily seeking relaxation, the latter engagement with different cultural experiences.P. Robinson, Tourism (2002) p. 196

Psychology

Wanderlust may reflect an intense urge for self-development by experiencing the unknown, confronting unforeseen challenges, getting to know unfamiliar cultures, ways of life and behaviours or may be driven by the desire to escape and leave behind depressive feelings of guilt, and has been linked to bipolar disorder in the periodicity of the attacks.Otto Fenichel, The Psychoanalytic Theory of Neurosis (1946) p. 369

In adolescence, dissatisfaction with the restrictions of home and locality may also fuel the desire to travel.S. Freud, On Metapsychology (PFL 11) p. 455

wanderlust

Etymology

Sociology

Psychology

See also

References

Further reading